Fiserv published its July 2026 Small Business Index, reporting that U.S. small business sales increased 1.6 percent year over year as higher average tickets offset weaker transaction traffic.
The seasonally adjusted index remained at 145 in July. Fiserv said average tickets rose 3.2 percent year over year, while transactions declined 1.6 percent, marking the ninth consecutive month of lower transaction activity.
Payments Data Shows Selective Spending
The index is built from point-of-sale transaction data across approximately 2 million U.S. small businesses, including businesses using the Clover platform. That gives Fiserv a data-driven view of how consumer spending is showing up at smaller merchants.
Fiserv said July results showed consumers remained engaged but selective. Retail sales increased 1.9 percent year over year, helped by transaction growth, while food services and drinking places slipped 0.8 percent year over year as restaurant traffic stayed under pressure.
Traffic Is The Weak Spot
The report suggests small business revenue growth is increasingly dependent on consumers spending more per visit rather than visiting more often. That pattern can support near-term sales, but it also leaves merchants exposed if average ticket growth slows.
For business technology leaders, the index is a reminder that payments platforms are becoming operational data systems. Transaction data can inform retail planning, lending risk, merchant services and localized economic analysis when it is aggregated and normalized at scale.
The Bottom Line
Fiserv’s July index points to modest small business growth with a softer traffic base underneath. The technology story is the growing value of payments data as a near-real-time operating signal for commerce, financial services and business planning.