US retail and food-services sales rose 1.2% in August 2026 to $773.9B against a 0.7% consensus, reversing a revised 0.5% July decline, with the control group up 1.4% and sales ex-autos and gasoline up 1.1%; online sales rose 2.6%, restaurants 1.2% and vehicles 0.6%. Oxford Economics attributed part of the swing to Prime Day timing but called the underlying gains decent. Released the morning of the FOMC decision.