THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2006, AT 8:30 A.M. EDT
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $362.7 billion, an increase of 0.5 percent (±0.7%)* from the previous month and up 6.6 percent (±0.8%) from April 2005. Total sales for the February through April 2006 period were up 7.3 percent (±0.3%) from the same period a year ago. The February to March 2006 percent change was unrevised from 0.6 percent (±0.2%).
Retail trade sales were up 0.5 percent (±0.7%)* from March and were
6.6 percent (±0.8%) above last year. Gasoline stations were up 17.4 percent
(±2.1%) from April 2005 and sales of nonstore retailers were up 13.3
percent (±4.3%) from last year.
The advance estimates are based on a subsample of the Census Bureau’s
full retail and food services sample. A stratified random sampling method is
used to select approximately 5,000 retail and food services firms whose sales
are then weighted and benchmarked to represent the complete universe of over
three million retail and food services firms. Responding firms account for approximately
65% of the MARTS dollar volume estimate. For an explanation of the measures
of sampling variability included in this report, please see the Reliability
of Estimates section on the last page of this publication.
Percent Change in Retail and Food Services Sales
(Estimates adjusted for seasonal variation, holiday, and trading-day differences, but not for price changes)
The Advance Monthly Retail Sales Report for May is scheduled to be released June 13, 2006 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
For information, visit the Census Bureau's Web site at <http://www.census.gov/retail>. This report is also available the day of issue through the Department of Commerce's STAT-USA (202-482-1986).
* The 90 percent confidence interval includes zero. The Census Bureau does not have sufficient statistical evidence to conclude that the
actual change is different than zero.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--April 2006
Data adjusted for seasonal variations, holiday, trading-day differences, but not for price changes. (Total sales estimates are shown in millions of dollars and are based on data from the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, Monthly Retail Trade Survey, and administrative records.)(2) (In Millions of dollars) 2006 2006 2006 2005 2005 NAICS(1) Kind of Business Apr(3) Mar Feb Apr Mar Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 362,676 360,915 358,675 340,260 334,358 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 287,115 285,020 283,567 264,482 260,288 Retail ....................................... 327,475 325,869 323,838 307,300 302,294 GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 92,342 92,181 87,714 86,545 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 75,561 75,895 75,108 75,778 74,070 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 69,308 69,561 68,797 69,701 68,166 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 9,838 9,848 9,809 9,099 8,982 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,769 8,731 8,725 8,302 8,280 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 7,137 7,125 6,638 6,625 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,594 1,600 1,664 1,655 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 30,502 30,998 30,510 26,996 26,294 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 27,498 27,061 23,937 23,314 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 44,807 44,610 44,686 42,856 42,501 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 39,843 39,641 39,682 38,315 38,049 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,121 3,130 2,852 2,828 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 18,339 18,276 18,095 17,120 16,944 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 15,200 15,032 14,355 14,244 447 Gasoline stations................................ 36,141 34,556 34,568 30,785 30,467 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 17,506 17,448 17,384 16,757 16,255 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) 775 779 785 798 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,192 3,153 3,027 2,944 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,118 2,152 2,032 1,929 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,279 7,220 7,160 6,750 6,759 452 General merchandise stores....................... 45,929 45,579 45,576 43,448 42,903 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 17,796 17,813 17,887 18,050 17,861 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 27,766 27,689 25,398 25,042 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 24,300 24,218 22,061 21,746 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 3,466 3,471 3,337 3,296 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,835 9,861 9,849 9,137 9,046 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 22,969 22,847 22,368 20,272 19,793 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 15,072 14,736 12,986 12,796 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 35,201 35,046 34,837 32,960 32,064 (*) Advance estimates are not available for this kind of business. (NA) Not available (a) Advance estimate (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate (1) For a full description of the NAICS codes used in this table, see http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html (2) Estimates are concurrently adjusted for seasonal variation and for holiday and trading day differences, but not for price changes. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available unadjusted estimates as input to the X-12 ARIMA program. The factors derived from the program are used in calculating all seasonally adjusted estimates shown in this table. Year-to-date seasonally adjusted sales estimates are not tabulated. Adjustment factors and explanatory material can be found on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html (3) Advance estimates are based on early reports obtained from a small sample of firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) sample. All other estimates are from the MRTS sample. (4) GAFO represents firms which specialize in department store types of merchandise and is comprised of furniture & home furnishings (442), electronics & appliances (443), clothing & accessories(448), sporting goods, hobby, book, and music (451), general merchandise(452), office supply, stationery, and gift stores(4532). (5) Estimates include data for leased departments operated within department stores. Data for this line are not included in broader kind-of-business totals.TABLE 1B. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--April 2006
Data not adjusted for seasonal variations, holiday, trading-day differences, and price changes. (In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change) 4 month total % Chg. 2006 2006 2006 2005 2005 NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2006 from Apr(2) Mar Feb Apr Mar Code 2005 (a) (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 1,362,283 7.4 355,261 366,616 318,184 337,663 340,568 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 1,068,981 9.1 279,624 283,151 250,199 259,145 259,413 Retail ....................................... 1,226,384 7.3 319,919 330,589 286,273 304,176 307,927 GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 87,726 79,726 81,163 82,785 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 293,302 1.5 75,637 83,465 67,985 78,518 81,155 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 268,938 1.2 69,447 76,795 62,261 72,350 74,914 44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 61,718 50,426 57,550 60,468 4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 6,670 5,724 6,168 6,241 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 36,587 9.0 8,972 9,848 8,838 8,544 8,910 4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 5,265 4,879 4,609 4,856 4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 4,583 3,959 3,935 4,054 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 32,017 6.6 7,433 8,302 7,882 7,145 7,827 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 6,652 6,455 5,649 6,102 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,650 1,427 1,496 1,725 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 112,033 15.7 32,687 31,017 23,948 29,950 26,326 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 27,388 21,865 24,918 23,221 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 171,142 4.3 43,996 44,321 40,502 41,668 42,860 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 153,269 3.5 39,245 39,681 36,190 37,357 38,620 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 2,918 2,667 2,732 2,613 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 72,204 6.5 18,009 19,098 17,226 16,932 17,876 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 15,854 14,371 14,168 14,985 447 Gasoline stations................................ 131,071 16.6 35,816 34,176 29,694 31,247 29,949 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 60,854 5.9 16,869 16,471 14,544 15,741 15,763 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 718 606 724 752 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,227 2,541 3,136 3,065 44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 6,267 5,051 5,963 6,081 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,105 1,874 2,069 2,031 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 25,634 7.5 6,369 6,635 5,742 6,001 6,130 452 General merchandise stores....................... 165,244 6.7 44,116 43,163 39,424 40,805 41,027 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 61,992 -0.4 16,760 16,455 14,771 16,624 16,561 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 16,860 15,136 17,071 16,995 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 26,708 24,653 24,181 24,466 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 23,401 21,699 21,024 21,246 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 3,307 2,954 3,157 3,220 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 36,497 8.5 8,993 9,510 8,993 8,595 8,754 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 89,799 12.7 21,022 24,583 21,495 19,030 21,350 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 15,479 13,174 12,350 13,142 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 135,899 8.4 35,342 36,027 31,911 33,487 32,641 (*) Advance estimates are not available for this kind of business. (NA) Not available (a) Advance estimate (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate (1) For a full description of the NAICS codes used in this table, see http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html (2) Advance estimates are based on early reports obtained from a small sample of firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) sample. All other estimates are from the MRTS sample. (3) GAFO represents firms which specialize in department store types of merchandise and is comprised of furniture & home furnishings (442), electronics & appliances (443), clothing & accessories(448), sporting goods, hobby, book, and music (451), general merchandise(452), office supply, stationery, and gift stores(4532). (4) Estimates include data for leased departments operated within department stores. Data for this line are not included in broader kind-of-business totals.TABLE 2. ESTIMATED CHANGE IN SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--April 2006
Data adjusted for seasonal variations, holiday, trading-day differences, but not for price changes. (Estimates are shown as percents and are based on data from the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, Monthly Retail Trade Survey, and administrative records.) Apr Mar 2006 2006 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Mar Apr Feb Mar Code 2006 2005 2006 2005 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... +0.5 +6.6 +0.6 +7.9 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.7 +8.6 +0.5 +9.5 Retail .................................. +0.5 +6.6 +0.6 +7.8 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -0.4 -0.3 +1.0 +2.5 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... -0.4 -0.6 +1.1 +2.0 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -0.1 +8.1 +0.4 +9.6 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +0.4 +5.6 +0.1 +5.4 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -1.6 +13.0 +1.6 +17.9 445 Food & beverage stores........................... +0.4 +4.6 -0.2 +5.0 4451 Grocery stores.................................. +0.5 +4.0 -0.1 +4.2 446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.3 +7.1 +1.0 +7.9 447 Gasoline stations................................ +4.6 +17.4 0.0 +13.4 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +0.3 +4.5 +0.4 +7.3 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +0.8 +7.8 +0.8 +6.8 452 General merchandise stores....................... +0.8 +5.7 0.0 +6.2 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -0.1 -1.4 -0.4 -0.3 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -0.3 +7.6 +0.1 +9.0 454 Nonstore retailers............................... +0.5 +13.3 +2.1 +15.4 722 Food services & drinking places.................. +0.4 +6.8 +0.6 +9.3 (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate (*) Estimates shown in this table are derived from adjusted estimates provided in Table 1 of this report. Data not adjusted for seasonal variations, holiday, trading-day differences, and price changes. Apr Mar 2006 2006 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Mar Apr Feb Mar Code 2006 2005 2006 2005 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... -3.1 +5.2 +15.2 +7.6 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -1.2 +7.9 +13.2 +9.2 Retail .................................. -3.2 +5.2 +15.5 +7.4 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -9.4 -3.7 +22.8 +2.8 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -9.6 -4.0 +23.3 +2.5 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -8.9 +5.0 +11.4 +10.5 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -10.5 +4.0 +5.3 +6.1 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +5.4 +9.1 +29.5 +17.8 445 Food & beverage stores........................... -0.7 +5.6 +9.4 +3.4 4451 Grocery stores.................................. -1.1 +5.1 +9.6 +2.7 446 Health & personal care stores.................... -5.7 +6.4 +10.9 +6.8 447 Gasoline stations................................ +4.8 +14.6 +15.1 +14.1 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +2.4 +7.2 +13.2 +4.5 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -4.0 +6.1 +15.6 +8.2 452 General merchandise stores....................... +2.2 +8.1 +9.5 +5.2 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +1.9 +0.8 +11.4 -0.6 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -5.4 +4.6 +5.7 +8.6 454 Nonstore retailers............................... -14.5 +10.5 +14.4 +15.1 722 Food services & drinking places.................. -1.9 +5.5 +12.9 +10.4 (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate (*) Estimates shown in this table are derived from adjusted estimates provided in Table 1 of this report. Note: Table 3 provides estimated measures of sampling variability. Additional information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, sample design, and definitions may be found at http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html SOURCE: Advance Monthly Sales for Retail Trade and Food Services--APRIL 2006 (Press Release available without charge from Public Information Office, Bureau of the Census Washington, D.C. 20233). Survey methodology and measures of sampling variability are documented in the Advance Press Release. Questions concerning this report should be directed to Mr. Scott Scheleur (301) 763-2713.
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Advance Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services Survey (MARTS) to provide an early estimate of monthly sales by kind of business for retail and food service firms located in the United States. Each month, questionnaires are mailed to a probability sample of approximately 5,000 employer firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS). Firms responding to MARTS account for approximately 65% of the total national sales estimate. Advance sales estimates are computed using a link relative estimator. The change in sales from the previous month is estimated using only units that have reported data for both the current and previous month. There is no imputation or adjustment for nonrespondents in MARTS. The total sales estimate is derived by multiplying this ratio by the preliminary sales estimate for the previous month (derived from the larger MRTS sample). Detailed industry estimates are summed to derive total estimates at broad industry levels. The monthly estimates are adjusted using annual survey estimates and for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences. Additional information on MARTS and MRTS can be found on the Census Bureau website at: http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html.
Because the estimates presented in this report are based on a sample survey, they contain sampling error and nonsampling error. Sampling error is the difference between the estimate and the result that would be obtained from a complete enumeration of the sampling frame conducted under the same survey conditions. This error occurs because only a subset of the entire sampling frame is measured in a sample survey. Standard errors and coefficients of variation (CV), as given in Table 3 of this report, are estimated measures of sampling variation. The margin of sampling error, as used on page 1, gives a range about the estimate which is 90-percent confidence interval. If, for example, the percent change estimate is +1.2 percent and its estimated standard error is 0.9 percent, then the margin of sampling error is ±1.65 x 0.9 percent or ±1.5 percent, and the 90 percent confidence interval is -0.3 percent to +2.7 percent. If the interval contains 0, then one does not have sufficient statistical evidence to conclude at the 90 percent confidence level that the change is different from zero and therefore the change is not statistically significant. Estimated changes shown in the text are statistically significant unless otherwise noted. For a monthly total, the median estimated coefficient of variation is given. The resulting confidence interval is the estimated value ±1.65 x CV x (the estimated monthly total). The Census Bureau recommends that individuals using estimates in this report incorporate this information into their analyses, as sampling error could affect the conclusions drawn from the estimates. Nonsampling error encompasses all other factors that contribute to the total error of a sample survey estimate. This type of error can occur because of nonresponse, insufficient coverage of the universe of retail businesses, mistakes in the recording and coding of data, and other errors of collection, response, coverage, or processing. Although nonsampling error is not measured directly, the Census Bureau employs quality control procedures throughout the process to minimize this type of error.
Current Quarter Retail E-Commerce Sales 
Source: U. S. Census Bureau
Service Sector Statistics Division
