What is the retail sales report and what does it measure?
The short answer
The retail sales report measures how much consumers spent at shops and restaurants in a month. The latest US advance figure, for September 2026, was $745.0 billion, up 0.8% from the previous month and up 6.3% from September 2025, according to the US Census Bureau.
What the report measures
The US Census Bureau's Monthly Retail Trade report gives advance estimates of US retail and food services sales, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes. In plain terms, it shows how much Americans spent in shops and restaurants last month.
The advance estimate is published first and later revised. The Census Bureau said the July 2026 to August 2026 change was revised from up 1.1 percent to up 1.3 percent.
Latest US figures
According to the Census Bureau's release of October 15, 2026, advance sales for September 2026 were $745.0 billion, up 0.8 percent (±0.4 percent) from the previous month and up 6.3 percent (±0.5 percent) from September 2025. Total sales for July 2026 through September 2026 were up 5.5 percent (±0.5 percent) from the same period a year earlier.
Latest figures by country
The sources here give monthly figures for the United States only. For Great Britain, the Office for National Statistics lists a release for August 2026, published 18 September 2026, and says retail sales rose in the three months to August 2026, but the sources do not give the percentage figure. No figures for other countries appear in the sources.
Release times
US retail sales are released at 8:30 a.m. US Eastern. The Census Bureau schedule lists the next releases as November 17, 2026 and December 16, 2026, both at 13:30 UTC. Local times for those two dates are in the table.
| City | Nov 17, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 8:30 AM | 8:30 AM |
| London | 1:30 PM | 1:30 PM |
| Frankfurt | 2:30 PM | 2:30 PM |
| Dubai | 5:30 PM | 5:30 PM |
| Singapore | 9:30 PM | 9:30 PM |
| Sydney | 12:30 AM (Wed Nov 18) | 12:30 AM (Thu Dec 17) |
Questions
What does the retail sales report show data about?
It shows how much consumers spent at retail and food services businesses in a month. The US version is published by the Census Bureau as advance estimates, later revised.
What is the retail sales month-on-month report?
It is the percent change in sales from the previous month. For September 2026 the US figure was up 0.8 percent, according to the Census Bureau.
When is the next US retail sales report?
The Census Bureau schedule lists November 17, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. US Eastern (13:30 UTC) for October 2026 data, then December 16, 2026 for November 2026 data.
What were the retail sales figures for September 2026?
Advance US sales were $745.0 billion, up 0.8 percent on the month and up 6.3 percent on September 2025, according to the Census Bureau.
What is the latest UK retail sales figure?
The Office for National Statistics lists a release for August 2026, published 18 September 2026, saying retail sales rose in the three months to August 2026. The percentage is not given in the sources here.
Sources
- US Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade - Sales Report
- US Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade - Release Schedule
- Office for National Statistics, Retail sales, Great Britain: previous releases
Checked against these official sources on October 20, 2026 by the Kairotick team. Rules and schedules change; check the source before you rely on a detail.
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