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U.S. retail sales excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations rose 0.22% month over month and 3.87% year over year in August, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor. It was the 11th consecutive monthly gain, though both measures were lower than in July. Core sales, which also exclude restaurants, rose 0.17% from July and 3.47% from a year earlier.
U.S. retail sales rose for an 11th consecutive month in August, increasing 0.22% from July and 3.87% from August 2025, seasonally adjusted, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor. The figures exclude automobile dealers and gasoline stations and show continued growth, although both rates were lower than July’s.
The National Retail Federation said its Retail Monitor recorded a 0.22% month-over-month increase in total retail sales in August and a 3.87% year-over-year increase. In July, the corresponding gains were 0.32% and 5.15%. The August results therefore extended the run of monthly increases while showing slower growth on both comparisons.
The monitor’s core retail sales measure also excludes restaurants, as well as auto dealers and gas stations. Core sales increased 0.17% from July and 3.47% from a year earlier in August. July’s core figures were 0.3% month over month and 4.72% year over year.
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay attributed consumer spending to low unemployment and steady wage gains, while saying households remained budget-conscious and made use of back-to-school promotions. Those comments are the trade group’s interpretation of consumer behavior; the figures provided do not separately measure the effects of employment, wages or promotions.
August Growth Slowed From July
The report points to continued retail sales growth, but the smaller August increases compared with July indicate that the pace eased on the measures reported. The year-over-year rate for total retail sales was 3.87%, down from 5.15% in July; the monthly gain also narrowed, from 0.32% to 0.22%.
For retailers and suppliers, the figures offer a recent snapshot of consumer spending during the back-to-school period. They suggest sales remained higher than a year earlier, while the slower rates may matter when businesses assess demand and plan inventory. The monitor alone does not establish what caused the change or predict sales in the months ahead.
The core measure provides a second view by excluding restaurant sales. Its 0.17% monthly increase and 3.47% annual increase were also below July’s reported rates. Readers should keep the measures’ different exclusions in mind when comparing them.
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Two Measures Track Retail Sales
The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor is the source of the August figures cited in the report published by Hardware Retailing on September 28, 2026. The supplied report describes its total retail measure as excluding automobile dealers and gasoline stations. Its core measure removes restaurants too.
The comparison covers two time frames: month over month, which compares August with July, and year over year, which compares August 2026 with August 2025. Both sets of figures are reported as seasonally adjusted. In each measure, July’s reported growth rates were higher than August’s, while August still recorded an increase on both comparisons.
What the Sales Figures Do Not Show
The report does not give dollar sales totals, category-level results or regional breakdowns, so it is not possible from these figures to identify which types of retailers drove the gains. It also does not quantify the separate effects of wages, unemployment or back-to-school promotions, which Shay cited in his comments.
The supplied material does not specify the Retail Monitor’s methodology or provide revisions, margins of error or further detail about how the seasonal adjustment was calculated. The reported growth rates describe August compared with July and with the same month a year earlier; they do not establish whether the trend will continue.
Next Monthly Retail Monitor Report
The next Retail Monitor release will show whether sales continued to increase in September and whether the growth rates changed. Until those figures are available, the confirmed picture is limited to August: total and core retail sales rose on both reported comparisons, with smaller gains than in July.
Future reports with category details or updated figures could clarify where growth is concentrated and whether earlier estimates were revised. The supplied report does not state a date for the next release.
Key Questions
How much did retail sales rise in August?
Total retail sales, excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations, rose 0.22% month over month and 3.87% year over year, seasonally adjusted, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor.
What does the 11th consecutive month mean?
It means the monitor recorded a month-over-month increase in retail sales for 11 months in a row. The August report does not give the size of each monthly increase in the streak.
What are core retail sales?
In this report, core retail sales exclude restaurants in addition to automobile dealers and gasoline stations. The measure rose 0.17% from July and 3.47% from a year earlier in August.
Were August sales gains faster than July’s?
No. The reported month-over-month and year-over-year growth rates were lower in August than in July for both total and core retail sales.
Why did sales increase?
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay cited low unemployment, steady wage gains and back-to-school promotions. The report does not independently quantify how much each factor contributed.
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