Editor’s Note: October represents the full transition for the Retail Monitor to its newly enhanced methodology. See below for details.
WASHINGTON, October 8, 2026 — Retail sales rose for the 12th straight month in September even as gas prices put pressure on shoppers’ budgets, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released today by the National Retail Federation.
“Retail sales rose again last month as consumers continued to spend following a solid back-to-school shopping season,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Households remain budget conscious, concentrating on everyday essentials even as higher gasoline prices continue to absorb a larger share of family budgets. Retailers continued to prioritize affordability, leaning on promotions and value pricing to keep everyday products within reach.”
Total retail sales, excluding automobile dealers and gasoline stations, were $560.8 billion in September, up 0.28% month over month and up 4.05% year over year, both seasonally adjusted, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.22% month over month and 3.87% year over year in August.
The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants in addition to auto dealers and gas stations) was $453.1 billion in September, up 0.27% month over month and up 3.73% year over year. That compared with increases of 0.17% month over month and 3.47% year over year in August.
Led by an 8.41% year-over-year gain in electronics and appliances, sales were higher in all categories except furniture and home furnishings, which were down 2.7%. Sector breakdowns are available here.
Beginning with this release, the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor is based on new, fully enhanced methodology and includes gross dollar sales levels in addition to percentage changes at both the topline and category levels. The Retail Monitor now draws on a panel of roughly 120 million debit and credit cards from Affinity Solutions, weighted to reflect the makeup of U.S. consumers and projected to match U.S. Census Bureau retail sales totals. Online sales from store-based retailers are now attributed back to their respective categories, when applicable, so sector figures reflect total omnichannel spending; remaining non-store retail sales are reported separately. The underlying data is also available for download. Full details on the methodology are available here.
Unlike survey-based numbers collected by the Census Bureau, the Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data and does not need to be revised monthly or annually. Retail Monitor data will be reviewed biannually for changes in seasonality modeling and adjusted if needed. Year-over-year comparisons continue to be reported on a seasonally adjusted basis, consistent with the month-over-month figures. As a result of this methodology update, month-over-month and year-over-year changes are not directly comparable with Retail Monitor figures published before September 2026
To learn more, visit nrf.com/nrf/cnbc-retail-monitor.
As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on retail sales each month and also forecasts annual retail sales and spending for key periods such as the holiday season each year.
About NRF
The National Retail Federation passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $5.3 trillion to annual GDP and supporting more than one in four U.S. jobs — 55 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. nrf.com
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MEDIA CONTACTS
NRF: J. Craig Shearman | press@nrf.com
CNBC: Melissa Castro | melissa.castro@nbcuni.com
Affinity Solutions: Kathleen Siddell | ksiddell@affinitysolutions.com
