---
title: Next retail sales release date, time and forecast
description: "Next US retail sales release date and 8:30 AM ET timing, control-group forecast, and how the consumer print moves GDP trackers and bond yields."
source: Helious
canonical: "https://helious.io/data/retail-sales"
---

# Retail Sales: release dates, results and history


    Retail Sales last printed 1.2 on Wed, Sep 16, 2026 against a 0.8 consensus forecast and a -0.6 prior, a +1.25 standard-deviation surprise. The next release is Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET. Captured live by Helious the moment it printed.

    Retail sales is the first hard read on the consumer each month, and the consumer is two-thirds of GDP. Traders mostly ignore the headline and go to the control group, which is retail sales with autos, gas, building materials and food services taken out. That line feeds straight into GDP consumption estimates. Leave those categories in and a swing in car sales or a move at the pump will often bury whatever the consumer actually did.




        NEXT RELEASE


      Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET



    Next release **--:--**




      LATEST PRINT: WED, SEP 16, 2026

        1.2actual

        0.8forecast
        -0.6prior
        +1.25std dev vs forecastBEAT

      [Full print analysis →](https://helious.io/news/rel-ev-62842aef1a56c324/retail-sales-mom-1-2)



      Surprise vs forecast


      +1.25
      std dev
      BEAT










      -2-10+1+2



        Printed above forecast. That gap is 1.25 times the size of a normal gap for this indicator.





## The trend



        OFFICIAL SERIES · LAST 36 OBSERVATIONS · % M/M





    +1.66%0-1.43%



  2023-092026-08

      The official published series at its current vintage, revisions included, so the newest point can differ from the number as first printed. The release-by-release history, with the consensus forecast and standard-deviation surprise on every row, comes through the [Helious API](https://helious.io/developers/).





## How it moves Treasuries

    A strong control group sells Treasuries, because the GDP trackers get marked up on the back of it. In high-inflation months the print gets discounted. The data is nominal, so it is never adjusted for the price rises sitting inside it. See it scored live on the [Helious desk](https://helious.io/),
    or read [how the standard-deviation surprise is computed](https://helious.io/methodology).






## Recent prints, as captured by the desk


      DATEACTUALFORECASTPRIORSURPRISE (SD)PRINT


      Wed, Sep 16, 2026Sep 16 ’26
      1.2
      0.8
      -0.6
      +1.25
      [ABOVE FORECAST](https://helious.io/news/rel-ev-62842aef1a56c324/retail-sales-mom-1-2)



      Fri, Aug 14, 2026Aug 14 ’26
      -0.6
      0.1
      0.2
      -2.19
      [BELOW FORECAST](https://helious.io/news/rel-ev-dac1919c565d58c0/retail-sales-mom-0-6)



      Thu, Jul 16, 2026Jul 16 ’26
      0.2
      0.2
      0.9
      0.00
      [ON THE SCREWS](https://helious.io/news/rel-ev-c8b65f8c3cded6da/retail-sales-mom-0-2)


    The 3 most recent prints from the desk's live capture, which began in July 2026, so what you see here is a sample rather than the whole record. Every row links the print page published the moment that number landed, and the full graded history is served by the [API](https://helious.io/developers/).






## Official series history


      PERIODVALUE (% M/M)PRIOR

        2026-08-01
        +1.13%

        -0.46%

        2026-07-01
        -0.46%

        +0.2%

        2026-06-01
        +0.2%

        +1.04%

        2026-05-01
        +1.04%

        +0.59%

        2026-04-01
        +0.59%

        +1.66%

        2026-03-01
        +1.66%

        +0.87%

        2026-02-01
        +0.87%

        -0.62%

        2026-01-01
        -0.62%

        +0.11%



    These are the most recent official
    rows, and the chart above draws the longer series behind them. The desk-captured prints higher up
    the page carry the consensus forecast and the standard-deviation surprise as they stood the moment
    each number landed.






## Related indicators




      Monthly, ~mid-month for the prior month · 8:30 AM ET ·
      [download a sample (CSV, recent rows)](https://helious.io/data/retail-sales.csv), free to cite with a link to this page.
      The full history comes through the [Helious API](https://helious.io/developers/) and
      MCP at [api.helious.io/mcp](https://api.helious.io/mcp), with depth set by plan.


    [Catch the next print live →](https://helious.io/)