U.S. retail sales momentum strengthened in early August, with the latest Redbook index showing an annual gain of 8.7% as of 4 August 2026. That marks an acceleration from the previous year-over-year reading of 8.3%, signaling continued resilience in consumer spending.
The Redbook index tracks same-store sales at large U.S. retailers and compares performance to the same period a year earlier. The current 8.7% reading reflects a faster pace of growth than in the prior month’s 8.3% year-over-year increase, suggesting that shoppers are maintaining – and modestly increasing – their spending levels despite broader economic uncertainty.
On a year-over-year basis, the “actual” figure measures the change in sales for the current month versus the same month last year, while the “previous” figure measures last month’s change versus its year-ago counterpart. The rise from 8.3% to 8.7% indicates that the underlying retail trend has improved slightly as the summer progresses.
