June 2026 Small Business Outlook: Small Businesses Stay Confident as Growth Plans, Sales Stall

Summary: Consumer spending stalled for the second consecutive month.

• Month-over-month sales at small businesses were flat for two consecutive months in May (0.0% change) and year-over-year sales continued to go up (+0.7% change).

Learn more about this data from the Fiserv April Small Business Index, published on June 3, 2026.

Summary: Small business owners use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for marketing is skyrocketing and is blurring the distinction between content creators and business owners.

• The good news is that U.S. consumer preference for shopping at small businesses has risen from 10% in 2021 to 27% in 2026. Bad news is that 49% of consumers are scaling back spending due to inflation.
• 73% of small business owners now identify as content creators and 47% of small business owners handle their social media management on their own.

Learn more about this data from the Constant Contact 2026 Small Business Now Report, published on June 10, 2026.