US Advance Monthly Retail & Food Services Sales (RSAFS)

Published mid-month at 8:30 AM ET by the U.S. Census Bureau across roughly 4,800 retail and food-service firms, Advance Monthly Retail Sales is Wall Street’s reality check on whether consumers follow what they say in surveys or what they swipe at checkout. September 2026 sales hit $745.0B (+0.8% MoM, +6.3% YoY). US Advance Monthly Retail & Food Services Sales (RSAFS) rounds out the top ten at #10 right behind Weekly Initial Jobless Claims (#9), acting as the essential hard-register counterweight to the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (#4). While 57% of households told Michigan interviewers in November 2026 that elevated prices eroded their living standards, Census MARTS data proved aggregate US shoppers still rang up $745.0B in September 2026 (+0.8% MoM, +6.3% YoY), feeding directly into BEA’s +3.4% Q3 real GDP expansion (#7) via the closely tracked Retail Control Group excluding autos, gas, and building materials. It sits at #10 rather than higher because headline retail figures are reported in nominal dollars (unadjusted for CPI #1) and omit non-food services such as housing, medical care, tuition, and airfare.