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U.S. retail sales excluding auto dealers and gas stations increased 0.28% month over month in September and 4.05% year over year, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor. It was the 12th consecutive month of growth, while the building and garden supply sector rose 0.07% from August.
U.S. retail sales rose for a 12th consecutive month in September, with sales excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations reaching $560.8 billion, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released October 8. The continued increase offers a measure of consumer spending momentum, while the report and the National Retail Federation say higher gasoline prices are putting added pressure on household budgets.
The monitor showed total retail sales, excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations, increased 0.28% month over month in September on a seasonally adjusted basis. Sales were 4.05% higher than a year earlier. Both measures were slightly stronger than in August, when the monitor recorded a 0.22% monthly rise and a 3.87% annual increase.
For its core measure, which also excludes restaurants, the monitor put September sales at $453.1 billion. That was up 0.27% from August and 3.73% from September 2025. In August, core sales had risen 0.17% month over month and 3.47% year over year. These figures describe separate sales categories and should not be read as a measure of all consumer spending.
Sales in the building and garden supply sector reached $44.0 billion, increasing 0.07% from August and 2.66% from a year earlier. The month-to-month gain was modest; the figures do not, on their own, explain what drove sales in the category or how individual retailers performed.
Steady Sales Meet Budget Pressure
The 12-month run of increases suggests retail spending continued to expand through September, rather than recording a monthly decline. The annual growth figures also ran above the corresponding August rates for both the total measure and the monitor’s core measure. That provides retailers and suppliers with a timely indication of demand, though the report alone cannot show how growth is distributed across households or businesses.
The NRF’s account points to a tension behind the headline: consumers are still spending, but household budgets face pressure from higher gasoline prices. If fuel takes a larger share of income, shoppers may have less room for discretionary purchases. NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said consumers remained budget conscious and retailers were using promotions and value pricing. Those are the federation’s characterization of the retail environment, not details quantified in the sales figures.
For building and garden retailers, the sector’s 0.07% monthly gain indicates a small increase in September sales, while the 2.66% annual rise gives a longer comparison. Neither number establishes whether the trend will continue, or whether sales growth reflects more purchases, price changes, or a mix of factors; the supplied report does not break that down.
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How September Compares With August
The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor is the source of the figures reported by Hardware Retailing. The September release describes retail sales as having risen for the 12th straight month. Its comparisons use seasonally adjusted month-over-month and year-over-year rates, which allow readers to compare September with the preceding month and with the same month a year earlier.
The report distinguishes between total retail sales and a narrower core measure. Total sales exclude auto dealers and gasoline stations; core sales also exclude restaurants. The categories therefore have different coverage and dollar totals. The month-to-month increases were less than one-third of 1% in September, even as annual growth was above 3% for both measures.
For additional industry context, the source mentions a separate National Association of Home Builders release on remodeling sentiment in the third quarter of 2026. It provides no RMI figures or findings in the September sales report, so that item does not establish a connection between remodeling sentiment and the retail sales results here.
What the Sales Figures Cannot Show
The release does not provide a breakdown of September sales by individual retailer, region, household income, or product price and volume. It therefore cannot establish how much of the increase came from more goods being sold versus changes in prices, or how widely the gains were shared across consumers and businesses.
The source says higher gasoline prices are absorbing more of family budgets, but it gives no fuel-price data or estimate of how that pressure affected retail purchases. It also does not provide a forecast for October or say whether the 12-month streak is likely to continue. The September figures are a report of sales performance, not a prediction.
October Data Will Test the Streak
The next useful comparison will be the monitor’s October sales release, which can show whether monthly and annual growth continued after September. Until then, the reported figures establish that sales increased in September and that the run of monthly gains reached 12, but they do not settle how shoppers will respond if fuel costs keep weighing on budgets.
Retailers, suppliers, and readers following the building and garden sector can compare the next release with September’s 0.07% monthly sector gain and the broader sales measures. Any assessment of longer-term momentum will depend on subsequent data and on comparable measures, rather than September’s single monthly result.
Key Questions
How much did retail sales rise in September?
Sales excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations rose 0.28% from August and 4.05% from September 2025, seasonally adjusted, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor.
What does the report mean by core retail sales?
The monitor’s core measure excludes auto dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants. 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 sector recorded $44.0 billion in September sales, up 0.07% from August and 2.66% from a year earlier, according to the report.
Does the report explain why sales increased?
No. The release reports sales changes but does not identify the causes of the increases. NRF chief Matthew Shay said consumers continued spending after back-to-school shopping while remaining budget conscious, but those remarks are the federation’s interpretation rather than a quantified explanation.
Source: rss
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