US Retail Sales Rise by Most in a Year

2026-04-21 12:33 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

US retail sales rose sharply by 1.7% in March 2026, surpassing market expectations of 1.4% and following an upwardly revised 0.7% increase in February.

This marks the steepest growth since March 2025, driven largely by a record 15.5% surge in gasoline station receipts as fuel prices spiked amid the escalating conflict with Iran.

Despite rising pump prices, consumer spending remained solid across nearly all categories, likely boosted by larger-than-usual tax refunds.

Sales increased at motor vehicle and parts dealers (0.5%), furniture and home furnishing stores (2.2%), electronics and appliance stores (0.9%), building material and garden equipment suppliers (0.7%), food and beverage stores (0.7%), health and personal care stores (0.5%), general merchandise stores (1.0%), and nonstore retailers (1.0%).

Receipts at restaurants and bars, the only service-sector category in the report, advanced 0.1%.

Core retail sales, excluding volatile sectors, climbed 0.7%, exceeding forecasts of 0.2%.



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US Retail Sales Rise by Most in a Year
US retail sales rose sharply by 1.7% in March 2026, surpassing market expectations of 1.4% and following an upwardly revised 0.7% increase in February. This marks the steepest growth since March 2025, driven largely by a record 15.5% surge in gasoline station receipts as fuel prices spiked amid the escalating conflict with Iran. Despite rising pump prices, consumer spending remained solid across nearly all categories, likely boosted by larger-than-usual tax refunds. Sales increased at motor vehicle and parts dealers (0.5%), furniture and home furnishing stores (2.2%), electronics and appliance stores (0.9%), building material and garden equipment suppliers (0.7%), food and beverage stores (0.7%), health and personal care stores (0.5%), general merchandise stores (1.0%), and nonstore retailers (1.0%). Receipts at restaurants and bars, the only service-sector category in the report, advanced 0.1%. Core retail sales, excluding volatile sectors, climbed 0.7%, exceeding forecasts of 0.2%.
2026-04-21
US Retail Sales Rise the Most in 7 Months
Retail sales in the US jumped 0.6% month-over-month in February 2026, rebounding from a 0.1% drop in January and above forecasts of a 0.5% gain. It is the strongest performance in seven months, with sales rising the most at department stores (3%), health and personal care stores (2.3%), clothing (2%), sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, & book stores (1.3%), motor vehicle and part dealers (1.2%) and miscellaneous store retailers (1.1%). Other increases were also seen in gasoline stations (0.9%), nonstore retailers (0.7%), electronics and appliances (0.5%) and building material and garden equipment (0.4%). On the other hand, retail sales were lower at food and beverages (-1%) and furniture (-1%) stores. Meanwhile, sales excluding food services, auto dealers, building materials stores and gasoline stations, which are used to calculate GDP, were up 0.5%, higher than forecasts of 0.3%.
2026-04-01
US Retail Sales Contract in January
US retail sales inched lower by 0.2% from the previous month in January of 2026, pulling back from a stall in the last month of 2025 and loosely in line with market expectations of a 0.3% drop. It was the first decline since October. Retail volumes contracted sharply for motor vehicle and parts dealers (-0.9%), gasoline stations (-2.9%), electronics and appliances stores (-0.6%), and clothing and accessories (-1.7%). Still, sales rose for furniture (0.7%), building materials and garden equipment (0.6%), miscellaneous stores (2%), and non-store retailers (1.9%). These were enough to lift the control group of retail sales by 0.3%, likely having a positive impact in the US GDP. From the previous year, retail sales rose by 3.2% in January.
2026-03-06