US retail sales jumped 1.2% in August as spending strengthened across nearly every category
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Americans spent $773.9 billion at retailers and restaurants in August, up 1.2 percent from July and 6.0 percent from a year earlier, the Census Bureau reported September 16. It was the strongest month of 2026 and it erased July's decline.
July itself looked slightly better after the revised numbers came out The bureau revised July from down 0.6 percent to down 0.5 percent, putting the level at $764.5 billion.
Stripping out car dealers, sales rose 1.4 percent. Stripping out both cars and gas stations, they rose 1.2 percent. The gain was broad: of the 13 major categories the bureau publishes, 12 rose in August.
| Category | August sales | From July | From a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | $773.9B | +1.2% | +6.0% |
| Motor vehicle and parts | $142.4B | +0.6% | +2.1% |
| Nonstore (online) | $141.3B | +2.6% | +9.9% |
| Food services and drinking places | $105.1B | +1.2% | +5.8% |
| Food and beverage stores | $85.6B | +0.4% | +0.5% |
| General merchandise | $80.4B | +0.7% | +4.5% |
| Gasoline stations | $62.3B | +3.1% | +21.0% |
| Building material and garden | $42.2B | -0.2% | +5.1% |
| Health and personal care | $40.7B | +0.9% | +1.9% |
| Clothing and accessories | $28.4B | +0.7% | +4.3% |
Gasoline stations stand out as their sales are up 21.0 percent over the year, the largest of any category by half again, and up 3.1 percent in August alone. Keep in mind that these figures are not adjusted for price changes, so a gas station selling the same gallons at higher prices shows up as growth. That is why gas is the first category that analysts set aside.
Online sellers had the second-fastest year, up 9.9 percent, and at $141.3 billion they are now within a billion dollars of car dealers, the largest category. Miscellaneous store retailers rose 14.0 percent over the year and sporting goods, hobby, and book stores 10.7 percent.
Grocery stores are the flat spot. Food and beverage store sales rose 0.5 percent over 12 months, the slowest of any category, and since these figures do not account for price changes, the growth is smaller still in real terms. Restaurant and bar sales rose 5.8 percent over the same stretch.
The one category that fell was building materials and garden supplies, down 0.2 percent, though it is still up 5.1 percent over the year. Department stores, a subcategory of general merchandise, slipped 0.8 percent in August and now take in $3.3 billion a month, which is 0.4 percent of all retail sales.
Our coverage of the July report is in retail sales for July. For what households earn to spend, see median household income by state and whether middle class incomes are rising. The September report is due October 15.
Sources
Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau's Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey for August 2026 (CB26-153, released September 16, 2026), adjusted for seasonal variation and for holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes. The advance estimate comes from a subsample of about 4,800 firms and is revised twice, so month-to-month changes move. The margin of error on the monthly change is ±0.4 percentage points and on the annual change ±0.5 points, both at 90 percent confidence. Per-person figures use the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 population estimates, summed across counties by CensusEasy.
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How much did retail sales rise in August 2026?
Retail and food services sales were $773.9 billion, up 1.2 percent from July and 6.0 percent from August 2025, according to the Census Bureau. July was revised from down 0.6 percent to down 0.5 percent, at a level of $764.5 billion.
Why are gas station sales up 21 percent?
Retail sales figures are not adjusted for price changes, so higher prices at the pump show up as sales growth even if drivers buy the same amount of fuel. That is why analysts commonly look at retail sales excluding gasoline, which rose 1.2 percent in August with autos also excluded.
How reliable is the advance retail sales estimate?
It comes from a subsample of about 4,800 firms and carries a margin of error of about 0.4 percentage points on the monthly change at 90 percent confidence. The Census Bureau revises each month twice as more responses arrive, so early readings routinely shift by a tenth or two.
