US retail sales slipped 0.2% month-over-month in January 2026, after being flat in December 2025, roughly matching market expectations for a 0.3% decline. This marked the first monthly decrease since October.
Volumes fell sharply at motor vehicle and parts dealers (-0.9%), gasoline stations (-2.9%), electronics and appliance stores (-0.6%), and clothing and accessories retailers (-1.7%). In contrast, sales increased for furniture retailers (0.7%), building materials and garden equipment stores (0.6%), miscellaneous store retailers (2%), and non-store retailers (1.9%).
These gains were sufficient to push the retail sales control group up by 0.3%, a development that is likely to support US GDP growth. On an annual basis, retail sales rose 3.2% in January.
