Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services (RSAFS)
Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services — Historical Chart
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Sign Up FreeUnderstanding Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services
Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services (FRED series RSAFS) is a monthly economic indicator measured in millions of dollars. The series is published through FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis economic database, with history going back to 1992. Values are seasonally adjusted, smoothing out predictable calendar effects so that underlying trends are easier to see.
Why it matters: Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services is one of the indicators traders, economists, and policymakers watch within the economic complex. Analysts use it to track conditions in the US economy and to anticipate shifts in growth, inflation, and policy.
How to read it: focus on the direction and persistence of changes rather than any single monthly print. Comparing the latest value against its level a year ago, and against its long-run range since 1992, gives a better sense of whether the series is signaling acceleration, deceleration, or a turning point.
About This Series
The value for the most recent month is an advance estimate that is based on data from a subsample of firms from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey. The advance estimate will be superseded in following months by revised estimates derived from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey. The associated series from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey is available at https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MRTSSM44X72USS Information about the Advance Monthly Retail Sales Survey can be found on the Census website at https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/about_the_surveys.html
Recent Data
| Date | Value (Mil. of $) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| April 1, 2026 | 757,085 | +3,715 |
| March 1, 2026 | 753,370 | +13,598 |
| February 1, 2026 | 739,772 | +5,817 |
| January 1, 2026 | 733,955 | -762 |
| December 1, 2025 | 734,717 | -1 |
| November 1, 2025 | 734,718 | +3,667 |
| October 1, 2025 | 731,051 | -1,141 |
| September 1, 2025 | 732,192 | +492 |
| August 1, 2025 | 731,700 | +3,973 |
| July 1, 2025 | 727,727 | +5,156 |
| June 1, 2025 | 722,571 | +6,470 |
| May 1, 2025 | 716,101 | -5,688 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services today?
The latest value of Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services (RSAFS) is shown at the top of this page, along with its observation date and the change from the prior reading. Data is sourced from FRED and refreshed regularly.
How often is Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services updated?
Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services is reported monthly (Monthly). New observations appear on FRED shortly after the source agency releases them, and this page updates daily.
What does a rising Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services mean?
A sustained rise in Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services signals strengthening readings in this economic measure, in millions of dollars. Whether that is positive or negative for markets depends on context — compare the move against the series’ trend and related indicators in the same category.
Where does the RSAFS data come from?
The data comes from FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data), maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, under series ID RSAFS. History is available back to 1992.
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Data sourced from FRED®, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services (RSAFS). Retrieved from fred.stlouisfed.org. Last updated May 14, 2026.