RetailBI released its November 2025 RetailBI Firearm Sales Index this week. It states gun sales declined 22.2 percent compared to the same month in 2024. So far this year purchases, according to the study, are down 11.9 percent.
Last month’s results are dramatically different than NSSF’s estimate of November’s year-over-year decline of 7 percent. Gearfire’s RetailBI, however, uses a methodology that does not rely on the volume of names processed by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
RetailBI compiles point of sale and ecommerce transactions from a carefully selected subset of retailers within its network. Those findings are then compared to unit sales for the same period (month and/or year-to-date) the previous year.
Using a same-store-adjusted methodology and tracking of only new firearms, the Index minimizes distortions caused by store openings/closures and irrelevant information. The approach ensures true apples-to-apples comparisons.