American consumers are still spending like it’s their job. The Johnson Redbook Same-Store Sales Index posted a 9.1% year-over-year gain for the week ending June 6, up slightly from the prior week’s 9.0% reading.

What the Redbook Index actually measures

The Redbook tracks same-store sales across roughly 9,000 locations from large US general merchandise and apparel retailers, capturing over 80% of the dollar values that eventually show up in the US Commerce Department’s official retail data.

The index drops every Tuesday. It compares the current week’s sales to the same week a year earlier, giving a clean year-over-year growth figure stripped of seasonal noise.

A 9.1% reading isn’t just solid. It’s remarkably hot compared to history. The long-term average for the Redbook Index dating back to 2005 sits at approximately 3.83%. The current figure is running at more than double that baseline.

For context on the extremes: the index peaked at 21.9% in November 2021, when post-pandemic revenge spending was in full swing. The floor was negative 12.6% in May 2020, when large swaths of the economy were shuttered.

A trend, not a blip

The reading prior to last week’s 9.0% came in at 8.1%, meaning the index has climbed a full percentage point in just two reporting periods.

The Redbook has been running in the 8-9% range through early June 2026, and that consistency tells a story on its own.

What this means for investors

Same-store sales measure dollar values, not unit volumes. When prices rise due to inflation, sales figures can look robust even if consumers aren’t actually buying more stuff. They might just be paying more for the same basket of goods.

So the 9.1% figure likely reflects some combination of genuine demand growth and price-level effects. Separating those two components requires cross-referencing with inflation data. Even adjusted for price increases, a reading this far above the 3.83% historical average suggests real underlying consumer strength.

For traders looking at macro positioning, the Redbook’s weekly cadence makes it a useful leading indicator to pair against the monthly retail sales report from the Commerce Department.