News desk of the furniture world 11/07/2024
Company: Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE: FI), a leading global provider of payments technology and financial services, today released the Fiserv Small Business Index™ for June 2024. The Fiserv Small Business Index is an indicator of the performance of small businesses in the United States at the national, state and industry levels.
“As the quarter drew to a close, consumers cut back on both spending and foot traffic at retail stores, restaurants and other service businesses.”
“The Fiserv Small Business Index provides timely insights into small business performance well ahead of other economic indicators,” said Jennifer LaClair, director of business solutions at Fiserv. “As consumers adjust their spending patterns, our ability to understand the impact on small businesses helps us work across our ecosystem to better support customers in a changing economic landscape.”
At the national level, seasonally adjusted data Fiserv Small Business Index In June, small business sales decreased to 140. On a year-over-year basis, both sales (+1.6%) and transactions (+4.4%) grew compared to June 2023, although the pace of growth is slowing. This is reflected in the decreases in small business sales (-2.9%) and transactions (-1.5%) month-over-month.
“As the quarter drew to a close, consumers reduced both spending and foot traffic at retailers, restaurants and other service businesses,” said Prasanna Dhore, chief data officer at Fiserv. “The slowdown was due to a combination of lower average ticket sizes (a result of declining inflation and budget-conscious consumers) and a number of short-term seasonal demand shifts.”
Retail
Nationwide, small business retail sales indexed at 142 in June, reflecting year-over-year growth in sales (+2.4%) and transactions (+7.0%) as consumers spent above their 2023 pace. General Merchandise (+8.5%) outpaced all retail subsectors in annual growth, followed by Gas Stations (+2.8%) and Health & Personal Care (+2.8%). Motor Vehicle & Parts Dealers (-4.1%) and Furniture/Electronics/Appliance Retailers (-1.2%) saw total sales decline year-over-year.
On a monthly basis, the impact was more significant as consumers sought deals and cut back on discretionary purchases, with monthly sales (-3.3%) and transactions (-0.8%) trending downward. General Merchandise (+0.3%) was the only retail category to increase total sales from May to June. Gas Stations (-4.5%), Motor Vehicle Dealers and Parts (-5.9%) and Health and Personal Care (-7.2%) saw the steepest month-over-month declines. Wholesale Trade, which closely tracks retail results, also saw a monthly slowdown (-4.0%).
About the Fiserv™ Small Business Index
The Fiserv Small Business Index is published during the first week of each month and is differentiated by its direct aggregation of consumer spending activity within the U.S. small business ecosystem. Rather than relying on surveys or opinion data, the Fiserv Small Business Index is derived from point-of-sale transaction data, including card, cash, and check transactions in stores and online at approximately 2 million U.S. small businesses.
Fiserv’s Small Business Index, based on 2019 data, provides a numerical value that measures consumer spending, with an accompanying Transactions Index that measures customer traffic. Through a simple interface, users can access data by region, state, and/or by business types categorized by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). By calculating a monthly index for 16 sectors and 34 subsectors, Fiserv’s Small Business Index provides a timely, reliable, and consistent measure of small business performance, even in industries where large companies predominate.
To access the full Fiserv Small Business Index, visit fiserv.com/FiservSmallBusinessIndex.
About Fiserv
Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE: FI), a Fortune 500 company, aspires to move money and information in a way that moves the world. As a global leader in financial and payments technology, the company helps clients achieve best-in-class outcomes through a commitment to innovation and excellence in areas including account processing and digital banking solutions; card issuer processing and network services; payments; e-commerce; merchant acquiring and processing; and the Clover® cloud-based point-of-sale and enterprise management platform. Fiserv is a member of the S&P 500® Index and has been recognized as one of Fortune® World’s Most Admired Companies for 9 of the past 10 years. For more information, visit fiserv.com.