Retail sales rise for fifth straight month

The Census Bureau reported that U.S. retail and food services sales rose 0.2% in June to $768.6 billion, marking the fifth consecutive monthly increase.

Core retail sales, which exclude motor vehicles and parts, fell 0.2% in June after a 1.0% gain in May. That was the first monthly decline for the core series in more than a year. On a year-over-year basis the core series was up 6.9% compared with June 2025.

Control purchases, a narrower measure that strips out motor vehicles and parts, gasoline stations, building materials, and food services and drinking places, rose 0.5% in June. That was the sixth straight monthly increase for control purchases, which were up 6.4% year over year.

The advance estimates are seasonally adjusted for holiday and trading-day differences but are not adjusted for price changes. Total retail receipts were up 6.7% from June 2025, and the April through June period was up 6.4% from the same period a year earlier. May’s monthly change was revised to 1.0% from a previously reported 0.9%.

The report includes charts showing that monthly retail sales have tracked above long-term trend lines since March 2021. The Census Bureau noted that headline retail figures are more volatile than the control series, and that energy market moves and geopolitical events can produce larger swings in categories such as gasoline and motor vehicles.

The June advance release provides a monthly snapshot that does not adjust for inflation; inflation-adjusted retail (real retail sales) is available in separate data. The release also contains revisions and methodological notes that may affect future monthly comparisons.