Fiserv Small Business Index Reports March Growth as Services and Restaurant Traffic Climb
Fiserv’s Small Business Index rose three points to 150 in March, reflecting stronger U.S. small business activity and marking an acceleration from February. The index revealed a 5.5% year-over-year and 1.8% month-over-month growth in small business sales, with total transactions increasing 6.7% year-over-year.
Fiserv noted that consumers continued to spend locally, with a shift in spending from retail to services and non-discretionary categories. Service-based businesses saw 6.2% annual growth, led by hospitals (+26.3%), information services (+11.7%), and professional services (+11.5%). Month-over-month gains were highest in information (+10.9%), insurance, and rental and leasing services (both +7.1%).
Although overall restaurant sales fell 0.6% year-over-year, foot traffic rose 7.9%, indicating that lower average ticket sizes are influencing the total spending decline. On a monthly basis, both sales and transactions increased, suggesting continued customer engagement.
Retail growth slowed slightly, up 3.2% year-over-year but down 0.1% compared to February. General merchandise and furniture led retail categories, while gasoline sales dropped 3% due to lower fuel prices.
Regionally, 44 states saw sales increases. Georgia, South Carolina, and North Dakota led year-over-year growth, while Illinois, Ohio, and West Virginia showed the strongest monthly gains. Atlanta and Philadelphia led large cities in annual growth, while San Francisco and Los Angeles topped the monthly list.
The Fiserv Small Business Index is based on real-time, anonymized point-of-sale data from approximately 2 million U.S. small businesses. The full index can be explored at [fiserv.com/FiservSmallBusinessIndex](https://www.fiserv.com/FiservSmallBusinessIndex).