US retail sales rose 1.2% month over month in August 2026, the strongest increase in five months. This followed a revised 0.5% decline in July—the first monthly drop since October 2025—and exceeded market expectations for a 0.8% gain.
By category, gasoline stations posted the largest advance (3.1%), followed by nonstore retailers (2.6%); miscellaneous store retailers (1.9%); electronics and appliance stores (1.6%); food services and drinking places (1.2%); sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores (1.2%); furniture stores (0.9%); clothing stores (0.7%); general merchandise stores (0.7%); motor vehicles and parts dealers (0.6%); and food and beverage stores (0.4%). In contrast, sales at building material and garden equipment stores edged down 0.2%.
The figures are reported in nominal terms and are not adjusted for inflation. Core retail sales—excluding food services, auto dealers, building materials stores, and gasoline stations, and used in the calculation of GDP—surged 1.4%, far above the 0.4% increase expected by economists.
