US retail and food services sales by type of business: $6.45 trillion (total retail and food services sales, January–September 2026). US retail and food services businesses sold $6.45 trillion of goods and services in the first nine months of 2026, 4.7% more than a year earlier. Motor vehicle and parts dealers were the largest, at $1,251 billion.
Data last updated · Period: January–September 2026
Understanding the chart
The bar chart above shows US retail and food services sales by type of business, January–September 2026, with one bar for each of the 13 figures, sorted from highest to lowest. Each bar is labelled with its exact value, and values are sales, January–September 2026, in $. The longest bar is the highest. The first bar is Motor vehicle and parts dealers at $1.25 trillion and the last Electronics and appliance stores at $65.0 billion. The data table below the chart lists every value, and you can download the data, embed the chart or share it from the buttons above. The figures cover January–September 2026 and come from U.S. Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, September 2026 (release CB26-165, 15 October 2026), tables 1 and 2.
Key insights
- The top three are Motor vehicle and parts dealers ($1.25 trillion), Nonstore retailers ($1.05 trillion), Food services and drinking places ($807.3 billion).
- The lowest are Electronics and appliance stores ($65.0 billion), Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores ($72.8 billion), Furniture and home furnishings stores ($93.2 billion).
- Across all 13 groups, the median is $398.5 billion, and the top value is 3.1 times the median.
- The top five together account for 70.7% of the total across all 13.
Analysis
The middle half of the 13 values lies between $138.4 billion and $751.7 billion, so a typical value is around $398.5 billion (the median); the average is $495.8 billion. 6 of the 13 are above the average and 7 below it. The highest value, $1.25 trillion for Motor vehicle and parts dealers, is 19.2 times the lowest, $65.0 billion for Electronics and appliance stores.
What it means
For anyone starting or growing a store, national sales show the size of the market and whether it is growing faster or slower than retail overall. Growing markets give new entrants room; flat or shrinking ones mean winning customers from established competitors. Because the figures are not adjusted for inflation, compare growth with price changes before concluding that more goods are being sold.
Related figures
- Growth in US retail sales by type of business, 2026 vs 2025: 17.0% (fastest: gasoline stations). Gasoline stations grew fastest, with sales up 17% in January to September 2026 from a year earlier; health and personal care stores fell most (-1.9%).
- E-commerce share of US retail sales, 2000–2026: 17.1% (of US retail sales were online, 2026 Q2). Online sales made up 17.1% of US retail sales in 2026 Q2, up from 16.3% a year earlier and less than 1% in 2000.
About this statistic
These figures come from the Census Bureau's Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey and Monthly Retail Trade Survey, which ask a sample of about 4,800 firms (advance) and 10,800 firms (monthly) for their sales each month, weighted to represent more than three million retail and food services businesses. Businesses are grouped by their main activity under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), so a supermarket that sells clothes still counts as a grocery store.
Monthly figures are seasonally adjusted to remove holiday and trading-day effects; nine-month totals are not. Sales are in current dollars, not adjusted for inflation, and September 2026 figures are early (advance) estimates that Census will revise. Since April 2025 the estimates cover only businesses with paid employees.
Questions and answers
Which groups rank highest for uS retail and food services sales by type of business, January–September 2026?
$6.45 trillion (total retail and food services sales, January–September 2026). US retail and food services businesses sold $6.45 trillion of goods and services in the first nine months of 2026, 4.7% more than a year earlier. Motor vehicle and parts dealers were the largest, at $1,251 billion.
Which rank lowest, and what is typical?
The top three are Motor vehicle and parts dealers ($1.25 trillion), Nonstore retailers ($1.05 trillion), Food services and drinking places ($807.3 billion). The lowest are Electronics and appliance stores ($65.0 billion), Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores ($72.8 billion), Furniture and home furnishings stores ($93.2 billion).
Where does this data come from?
From U.S. Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, September 2026 (release CB26-165, 15 October 2026), tables 1 and 2, covering January–September 2026. Estimates cover businesses with paid employees only (nonemployers were removed from the series with the April 2025 benchmark). January to September totals are not seasonally adjusted; monthly figures are seasonally adjusted. Figures are not adjusted for price changes. September 2026 figures are advance estimates and will be revised.
Data
| Type of business | Sales, January–September 2026 ($) |
|---|---|
| Motor vehicle and parts dealers | $1.25 trillion |
| Nonstore retailers | $1.05 trillion |
| Food services and drinking places | $807.3 billion |
| Food and beverage stores | $751.7 billion |
| General merchandise stores | $703.7 billion |
| Gasoline stations | $558.5 billion |
| Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers | $398.5 billion |
| Health and personal care stores | $340.6 billion |
| Clothing and clothing accessories stores | $218.3 billion |
| Miscellaneous store retailers | $138.4 billion |
| Furniture and home furnishings stores | $93.2 billion |
| Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores | $72.8 billion |
| Electronics and appliance stores | $65.0 billion |
Source and notes
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, September 2026 (release CB26-165, 15 October 2026), tables 1 and 2. Period: January–September 2026. Coverage: United States.
Estimates cover businesses with paid employees only (nonemployers were removed from the series with the April 2025 benchmark). January to September totals are not seasonally adjusted; monthly figures are seasonally adjusted. Figures are not adjusted for price changes. September 2026 figures are advance estimates and will be revised.
Cite this statistic
Please also credit the original source: U.S. Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, September 2026 (release CB26-165, 15 October 2026), tables 1 and 2.Related statistics
- Growth in US retail sales by type of business, 2026 vs 2025
- E-commerce share of US retail sales, 2000–2026
- E-commerce share of US retail sales by quarter, 2019–2026
- US retail trade sales, 2026
- US sales at food services and drinking places, 2026
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