Fiserv Inc., a leading provider of payments and financial services technology, reported that its seasonally adjusted Small Business Index for October 2025 held steady at 148. Year-over-year small business sales increased by 1.5% and transactions rose 1.1%, marking the slowest annual sales growth rate since February 2025. Month-over-month, both sales and transactions edged up by 0.1%. However, when adjusted for inflation, small business sales declined 1.4% year over year, the steepest drop in the past eight months. Retail sales among small businesses grew 0.7% month over month and 0.6% year over year, with core retail sales showing stronger growth of 1.6% month over month and 2.6% year over year. Significant gains were seen in sporting goods (+3.0%) and clothing (+1.9%), attributed to early holiday shopping activity. Food and beverage (grocery) sales also increased by 1.4% month over month. Discretionary spending remained flat compared to September and rose just 0.2% year over year, while essential sales outpaced discretionary with a 2.5% year-over-year increase. Restaurant sales growth was modest at 0.1% year over year and declined by 0.3% month over month, with both full-service and limited-service restaurants experiencing drops in sales and foot traffic.
Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. Fiserv Inc. published the original content used to generate this news brief via Business Wire (Ref. ID: 20251103731873) on November 03, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.
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