Year-over-year sales (+3.6%) and transactions (+3.0%) remained strong, signaling the continued resilience of consumer spending. Average ticket sizes (+0.7%) also grew compared to 2024.
Month-over-month sales (+1.0%) grew, reversing a three-month trend of softening consumer spend. Average tickets (+0.9%) rose compared to June, while foot traffic (+0.1%) remained relatively flat, according to the Fiserv Small Business Index.
“July brought modest monthly sales growth for small businesses, but those gains were largely driven by higher average tickets, likely resulting from continued inflationary pressure,” says Prasanna Dhore, chief data officer, Fiserv. “Economic pressures continue shifting spending patterns as well. Consumers are spending more on essentials, while discretionary is growing at a much slower pace.”
Key takeaways:
- July’s month-over-month sales growth (+1.0%) broke a multi-month slump. However, with transaction growth nearly flat (+0.1%), consumers weren’t visiting small businesses more in July, they were just spending more on purchases when they did. For example, retail sales growth (+1.1%) in July 2025 compared to June 2025 was directly attributable to an increase in average ticket size (+1.1%).
- Sales continued to grow significantly across Essentials, rising month-over-month (+1.5%) and year-over-year (+6.1%). Discretionary sales grew, but at a slower pace month-over-month (+0.5%) and year-over-year (+1.1%). This shift comes with higher costs for consumers as average tickets for Essentials are rising significantly month-over-month (+1.4%) and year-over-year (+3.0%).
- Restaurant visits dipped for the third straight month (-0.3%), dragging sales down (-0.9%) compared to June. When adjusting for inflation, sales declined (-1.1%) compared to June. As a bellwether for household budget flexibility, declining restaurant sales in July signal consumers continuing to tighten up. Despite the slowdown compared to June, restaurant sales are still growing year over year (+1.8%). Foot traffic has also increased (+2.2%) compared to 2024.
- After a sluggish spring, wholesale durables (+1.4%) and wholesale non-durables (+2.0%) made solid month-over-month gains.
