In September 2025, retail sales in the United States saw a modest increase of 0.2% from the previous month. This marks the smallest rise in four months, following a more robust 0.6% growth in August, and it falls short of analysts' predictions of a 0.4% increase. The most significant gains were observed in miscellaneous store retailers, which surged by 2.9%, and gasoline stations, which experienced a 2% rise. Additional sales growth was recorded at health and personal care stores (1.1%), food services and drinking establishments (0.7%), furniture stores (0.6%), food and beverage retailers (0.2%), building materials and garden equipment dealers (0.2%), and general merchandise stores (0.1%).
Conversely, some sectors experienced declines. Sales dropped notably at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book retailers by 2.5%, clothing stores by 0.7%, nonstore retailers by 0.7%, electronics and appliance outlets by 0.5%, and motor vehicle and parts dealers by 0.3%. Notably, when excluding food services, automotive dealers, building material sellers, and gasoline stations from the figures—components typically used to calculate GDP—sales decreased by 0.1%. This downturn follows a 0.6% rise in August and contrasts with expectations of a 0.3% increase.
