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 were 72.04 billion US dollars in September 2025, compared to 79.85 in August 2025. This constitutes a decrease of 9.78 percent.
Sample. In the monthly series presented in the graph, there are 405 observations overall. The span of time covered by the series is from January 1992 to September 2025.
History. Have a look at a few descriptive statistics we computed on the entire sample: sales averaged 47.01 USD billion; they recorded a minimum of 14.89 in January 1992; they hit a peak of 92.77 in December 2024.
Latest values
| Date | Value - US dollars (USD) million |
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | 76422.0 |
| 2025-08-31 | 79847.0 |
| 2025-09-30 | 72041.0 |
Suggestion. We categorize series into data sets and worksheets to facilitate exploration. When you look below, you will find how we arranged further information linked to the statistics published here.
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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 | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Auto Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Gas Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Auto and Gas Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Retail Trade Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Food Services and Drinking Places Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
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 | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Auto Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Gas Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Retail Trade and Food Services ex Auto and Gas Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Retail Trade Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Food Services and Drinking Places Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
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 | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Grocery Stores Sales (advance estimate; seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Auto and Other Motor Vehicles Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |
| Grocery Stores Sales (advance estimate; not seasonally adjusted; USD million) - United States - Census - Monthly | 405 | 1992-01-31 | 2025-09-30 |