General Merchandise Stores Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Advance retail sales (U.S. Census)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to Census Bureau's advance estimates for the US economy (not adjusted for seasonality), sales at general merchandise stores stood at 71.89 USD billion in January 2026, versus 93.55 in December 2025. This constitutes a reduction of 23.15 percent.
Sample. There are 409 records overall in the monthly series displayed in the graph above. The time period covered by the series goes from January 1992 to January 2026.
History. Here’s a quick look at some summary statistics we computed on the full sample: sales averaged 47.35 billion US dollars; they peaked at 93.55 in December 2025; they hit a minimum of 14.89 in January 1992.
Latest values
| Date | Value - US dollars (USD) million |
|---|---|
| 2025-11-30 | 81888.0 |
| 2025-12-31 | 93545.0 |
| 2026-01-31 | 71888.0 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | General Merchandise Stores Sales (advance estimate) |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Flow |
| Data type | Nominal aggregate |
| Deflation method | Current prices |
| Seasonally adjusted | No |
| Rescaling | None |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Unit | US dollars (USD) million |
| Source | U.S. Census Bureau |
| Source type | National statistical agency |
| Data licence | Open Data |
| Measure type | Level |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.
Main aggregates SA
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade and Food Services Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Auto Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Gas Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Auto and Gas Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Retail Trade Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Food Services and Drinking Places Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
Retail trade categories SA
Main aggregates NSA
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade and Food Services Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Auto Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Gas Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Auto and Gas Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Retail Trade Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Food Services and Drinking Places Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
Retail trade categories NSA
Other (subcategories)
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto and Other Motor Vehicles Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Grocery Stores Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Auto and Other Motor Vehicles Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |
| Grocery Stores Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 409 | 1992-01-31 | 2026-01-31 |