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Retail sales excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations totaled $560.8 billion in September, up 0.28% from August and 4.05% from a year earlier. It was the 12th consecutive month of growth reported by the National Retail Federation’s Retail Monitor, while the building and garden supply category rose 2.66% year over year.
U.S. retail sales rose for a 12th consecutive month in September, according to the National Retail Federation’s CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, with sales excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations reaching $560.8 billion. The report recorded gains both from August and from a year earlier, even as NRF chief Matthew Shay said higher gasoline prices were taking a larger share of household budgets.
Sales in the Retail Monitor’s total retail measure, which excludes automobile dealers and gasoline stations, increased 0.28% month over month in September on a seasonally adjusted basis. They were up 4.05% year over year. The report said August’s corresponding increases were 0.22% from July and 3.87% from a year earlier, so September’s reported growth rates were higher on both comparisons.
The monitor’s core retail sales measure also excludes restaurants, in addition to auto dealers and gas stations. It totaled $453.1 billion in September, up 0.27% from August and 3.73% from September 2025. In August, this measure rose 0.17% month over month and 3.47% year over year, according to the report.
Building and garden supply sales came to $44.0 billion in September. The category increased 0.07% from August and 2.66% from a year earlier. The figures describe sales across the category; the source material does not provide a breakdown by product, retailer, or type of purchase.
What the Growth Rates Show
The figures point to continued growth in the sales measures tracked by the NRF, but the increases are not the same as a measure of inflation-adjusted spending. The reported numbers are nominal sales values, and the supplied report does not state how much of the year-over-year increase reflects prices versus changes in the quantity or mix of goods purchased.
For retailers, another month of gains offers evidence that sales have continued to expand after the back-to-school season. The building and garden supply results may be of particular interest to hardware and home-improvement businesses: the sector grew year over year, though its 0.07% monthly increase was modest. The figures do not establish what drove that result or whether it signals a change in demand for home-related goods.
Household budgets remain part of the picture. Shay said shoppers were focusing on everyday essentials and that gasoline costs were taking a larger share of family budgets. That is the NRF chief’s characterization of consumer behavior; the release does not include household-level spending data to quantify the effect.
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How September Compares With August
The report was published on October 8, 2026, by Hardware Retailing, which summarized the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released by the National Retail Federation. The monitor’s total and core measures use different exclusions, so their dollar totals and growth rates should not be treated as interchangeable.
September followed August, when the monitor recorded smaller month-over-month and year-over-year growth rates for both measures. The NRF described the latest result as the 12th straight month of retail sales growth. The supplied material does not give the full monthly series, so it does not provide enough detail to assess the pace of growth across all 12 months or identify any monthly interruptions in particular sectors.
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What the Retail Monitor Cannot Show
The release does not say how much September’s dollar growth came from higher prices rather than greater purchase volumes. It also does not provide a forecast, a measure of inflation-adjusted sales, or enough detail to determine how broadly growth was distributed among retailers and product categories.
The account attributes budget-conscious shopping and fuel pressure to Shay, but includes no separate survey or household data supporting those statements. The figures also do not explain why building and garden supply sales rose year over year or whether that performance is likely to continue.
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Upcoming Sales Data to Watch
The next useful comparison will be the Retail Monitor’s report on the following month, which can show whether the monthly and annual gains continued beyond September. Readers can also compare the monitor’s category figures with later releases, while checking that each measure uses the same exclusions and seasonal-adjustment basis.
Until additional data are released, the confirmed picture is limited to September’s reported sales totals and growth rates. The figures show another month of expansion in the monitor’s measures, but do not by themselves settle how much consumers bought, how price changes affected sales, or how fuel costs shaped household spending.
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Key Questions
How much did retail sales increase in September?
The NRF Retail Monitor reported that sales excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations rose 0.28% from August and 4.05% from a year earlier, seasonally adjusted.
What does the report mean by core retail sales?
The monitor’s core measure excludes restaurants, auto dealers, and gasoline stations. It totaled $453.1 billion in September, up 0.27% month over month and 3.73% year over year.
How did building and garden supply sales perform?
The category recorded $44.0 billion in September sales, up 0.07% from August and 2.66% from a year earlier, according to the report.
Do the figures show that consumers bought more goods?
Not on their own. The reported sales totals do not separate price changes from changes in the quantity or mix of goods purchased, and the supplied material does not provide inflation-adjusted figures.
Source: rss
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