Consumers are showing signs of strain even as they keep spending, CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor shows

Retail sales rose at their slowest pace in nearly a year in October as American consumers showed signs of strain from high prices, according to the latest CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor.

Total retail spending on a seasonally adjusted basis came in at $561.7 billion in October, a 0.2% increase from a month prior and 3.6% above where it sat a year ago, according to exclusive data released Wednesday.

Core retail spending, which excludes restaurant spending, rose 0.3% month over month to $454.2 billion. Core spending was 3.4% higher than a year earlier.

The monthly growth rate for total spending was the lowest since November 2025, an indication that shoppers are growing choosier as higher prices pinch pocketbooks. A strong Halloween season and an early start to holiday promotions kept the figure from being even lower, the NRF said.

"Households are managing budgets carefully, timing purchases around special offers and sales events in order to stretch their dollars," said Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation. "Retailers continue to offer promotions and value pricing to keep everyday items and holiday gifts affordable."

CNBC/NRF recently expanded the monitor to include around 120 million debt and credit cards, making it one of the largest sources of card spending in the country. Data comes from Affinity Solutions.

Spending rose in nine of 11 sectors year over year, led by the electronics and appliances category, with a 9.3% increase in the 12-month period. Technology companies have hiked prices for products ranging from MacBooks to Xboxes in the face of surging memory chip costs amid the artificial intelligence boom.

On the other hand, furniture and home furnishings sales dropped by 0.2% in October, likely hurt by the housing market's freeze as mortgage rates rose. On a 12-month basis, spending in the category has dropped 2.6%.

Spending on a basket of leisure items including sporting goods, music and bookstores pulled back by 0.4% on the year, despite ticking higher from September to October.

Wednesday's data offers the latest signals of how higher-than-usual inflation and rising prices are impacting U.S. consumers, whose spending accounts for the bulk of the country's economic output.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday that its closely followed consumer price index increased 0.4% in October, a slightly higher month-over-month growth rate than economists forecast.

And a National Federation of Independent Business survey revealed on Tuesday that a net 37% of businesses planned to hike prices in the next three months, the highest since July 2022, when the U.S. economy was dealing with energy price shocks due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.