Rosy December for small business sales, but restaurants are left out

NEW YORK (AP) — Small businesses had a merry December, as shoppers wrapped up their holiday shopping.

That's according to the Fiserv Small Business Index.

In the U.S., the seasonally adjusted index for December was 146, up 3 points from November. The figure is derived from point-of-sale transaction data, including card, cash, and check transactions in-store and online across about 2 million U.S. small businesses.

“Small business sales continued their growth in December despite consumer spending patterns beginning to shift,” said Prasanna Dhore, Chief Data Officer at Fiserv. “Notably, consumers diverted more spend to service-based business, retail spending continued to display strength, and consumers spent less dining out as average restaurant ticket sizes continued to decline.”

Fiserv, a payment and financial services technology company, found that small business sales rose 4.9% and total transactions grew 5.5% from December the year prior.

That echoed trends at larger businesses. The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, said holiday sales in November and December rose 4% to $994.1 billion compared with the previous year. For the holiday period in 2023, sales increased 3.9% compared with the previous two-month period. The holiday sales growth was above the group’s expectations for a 2.5% to 3.5% increase for the period.

Retail spending at small businesses remained a high point. Retail sales rose 4.9% and transactions rose 5.8% in December. The strongest selling categories were general merchandise, clothing, shoes and jewelry retailers, furniture, electronics, appliances and grocery.

Restaurants, however, were weaker. Sales fell 3.4% from December a year ago, even though transactions rose 4.1%. Full-service restaurants, including upscale and family dining locations, were the weakest performers, while quick service and fast casual restaurants performed better. The disparity in sales and transactions was the result of a significant reduction in average ticket size, down 7.4%, compared to 2023.