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.

FILE - Shoppers walk on the Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)