Story perspectives

U.S. Retail Sales Rise 0.28% in September to $560.8B

By Drooid · Oct 10, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. retail sales increased 0.28% in September, reaching $560.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Core retail sales, excluding restaurants, rose 0.27% month-over-month to $453.1 billion, up 3.73% year-over-year.
Electronics and appliances sales hit $12.3 billion, an 8.41% increase from a year earlier.
Online and catalog sales grew 7.83% year-over-year to $99.1 billion, becoming the second-largest category.
Restaurants recorded $107.8 billion in September, a 5.4% year-over-year rise, remaining the top spending category.

History

Historical Context

The World Wide Web’s 1991 debut and 1993 Mosaic browser spurred companies like Amazon.com and eBay, founded in 1995, to sell online. Fueled by low interest rates, tax cuts, and the 1999 Nasdaq price-to-earnings ratio above 200, U.S. e-commerce sales hit roughly $100 billion—a 30 % jump. That boom pattern mirrors today’s September 2023 retail data, where online sales rose 7.83 % to $99.1 billion.

1 of 2

Story summary

U.S. retail sales increased 0.28% in September, reaching $560.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Core retail sales, excluding restaurants, rose 0.27% month-over-month to $453.1 billion, up 3.73% year-over-year.
Electronics and appliances sales hit $12.3 billion, an 8.41% increase from a year earlier.
Online and catalog sales grew 7.83% year-over-year to $99.1 billion, becoming the second-largest category.
Restaurants recorded $107.8 billion in September, a 5.4% year-over-year rise, remaining the top spending category.

1 / 2