Small Business Sales Increased in December, US Consumers Spend More Per Transaction: Fiserv

(small.news) — The Fiserv Small Business Index from December 2025 showed that small businesses might’ve seen small gains in their sales during the holiday season.

According to Fiserv, year-over-year sales for small businesses increased by 1.6% while December sales increased month-over-month by 0.8%. When compared to 2024, this shows that many consumers spent more per purchase during this holiday season than last.

Prasanna Dhore, the Chief Data Officer at Fiserv, said, “December’s sales gains show the resilience of small businesses during a competitive holiday season. Consumers focused on essentials and made selective discretionary purchases, driven by ongoing cost pressures. These patterns, resulting in modest monthly sales growth, highlight how small businesses continue to adjust in a challenging economic climate.”

Holiday Demand Increased Sales: Report

Sales among retail small businesses increased by 0.9% from November to December, and by 0.3% when compared with December 2024. Core Retail (minus what Fiserv considers “volatile categories”) increased by 1.1% when compared to 2024.

Sporting goods saw the highest gains at 5.2%, which was largely due to the 5.8% increase in foot traffic, according to Fiserv. Small business restaurants, however, only saw a minimal jump of 0.1% when compared to 2024 and no change from November to December.

According to Fiserv, these restaurants saw lower foot traffic (-1.5%) when compared to December 2024, which was the main driver for the lower growth.

Most States See Sales Growth

From November to December, 43 states saw an increase in sales. This is an improvement when looking at October to November, which only saw 11 states grow in sales.

Some of the states that saw an increase include California and Texas. Other states, however, like New York, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, saw slight decreases.