Videos / US Retail Sales Are Up 6.3%. How
Plays from YouTube
US Retail Sales Are Up 6.3%. How Much of That Is Real? (Dollars vs Inflation)
Oct 20, 2026
US retail and food services sales reached $745.0 billion in September 2026, up 6.3% from a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau's advance estimate. But that counts dollars, not things. Consumer prices rose 3.7% over the same twelve months, so by our rough count spending grew about 2.5% after inflation. Gas station sales rose 28.1% in a year, while gasoline prices rose 34.2%.
More videos
AMD's Comeback in Numbers: From a $1.62 Stock to Taking On Nvidia
Why Is AriZona Iced Tea Still 99 Cents After 30 Years?
Netflix Q3 2026 Earnings: It Beat Its Own Profit Forecast, So Why Did the Shares Fall?
What Americans Spend on Their Pets: $158 Billion in 2025, and Where It Goes
Coffee Prices in 5 Years: Arabica +46%, a Pound of Ground Coffee About Doubled (Sep 2021-Sep 2026)
Foursquare's Rise and Fall: From 20 Million Users to $0 for Shareholders
SpaceX Q3 2026 Earnings: Expected vs Actual ($4.4 Billion Profit vs $1.57 Billion Expected)