US retail sales rose 0.8% month-over-month in September 2026, following an upwardly revised 1.3% increase in August and far exceeding market expectations of a 0.3% gain. Sales at gasoline stations jumped 6.4%, driven by higher fuel prices. Since retail sales figures are reported in nominal terms, they are not adjusted for inflation. Excluding gasoline, retail sales increased by just 0.2%.
Stronger spending was also recorded at furniture stores (1.3%), food services and drinking places (1.1%), health and personal care stores (0.7%), electronics and appliance retailers (0.6%), food and beverage stores (0.4%), nonstore retailers (0.3%), and motor vehicle dealers (0.2%).
In contrast, sales were flat at clothing stores and declined at miscellaneous store retailers (-3%), building materials and garden equipment dealers (-0.6%), sporting goods, musical instrument and book stores (-0.5%), and general merchandise stores (-0.1%).
Meanwhile, control group sales—retail sales excluding food services, auto dealers, building materials stores, and gasoline stations, which are used in calculating GDP—rose 0.1% in September, following a 1.2% increase in August.
