{"id":993,"date":"2026-08-03T14:32:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paymentconsulting.net\/Blog\/wordpress\/?p=993"},"modified":"2026-08-03T14:32:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:32:39","slug":"consumers-are-spending-more-but-there-are-fewer-of-them-fiserv-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paymentconsulting.net\/Blog\/wordpress\/?p=993","title":{"rendered":"Consumers Are Spending More, But There Are Fewer of Them, Fiserv Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/i>John Stewart<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>August 3, 2026<\/span>\u00a0<\/i>E-Commerce<\/a>,\u00a0Mobile Commerce<\/a>,\u00a0Point-of-sale<\/a>,\u00a0Transaction Processing<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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The U.S. small-business economy is stuck in neutral, with any improvement coming from customers buying more rather than from a boost in foot traffic, according to a key performance index calculated by the big transaction processor Fiserv Inc.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s\u00a0Small Business Index<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0registered at 145.3 for July, up 1.6% from July last year and a 0.2% improvement from June. The transaction index alone was calculated at 103, down a notch from 104 a year ago. Overall, growth is coming from higher tickets rather than more customers, according to Prasanna Dhore, Fiserv\u2019s chief data officer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cConsumers remain engaged, particularly in select retail categories, but continued pressure in restaurants and the shift toward value-oriented spending show households are being more selective with where and how they spend,\u201d Dhore says in a statement.<\/p>\n

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This higher tickets, flat customer count story has unfolded with particular force in the restaurant category. Here, average tickets were 2.8% higher year-over-year while the transaction count slipped 3.6%. This trend has been particularly acute for limited-service restaurants, where sales dropped 3.4% year-over-year as transactions slipped 5.3%, according to the Index.<\/p>\n

Gasoline sales are up 14.2% year-over-year owing to a 15.4% rise in average tickets, as the Iran war\u2019s effect on the industry unfolds. Overall retail sales rose 1.9% over this time last year despite a 0.8% slip in average tickets, as transactions increased 2.2%. \u201cHouseholds remained willing to spend selectively,\u201d the Fiserv report says.<\/p>\n

The latest results underscore the importance of the trend among consumers to ring up higher average spending per sale. \u201cJuly\u2019s results reinforce a consistent theme in 2026. Small businesses are still growing, but growth is increasingly dependent on higher tickets rather than stronger traffic,\u201d Dhore says in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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