FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, AT 8:30 A.M. EST
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for October, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $363.7 billion, a decrease of 2.8 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 4.1 percent (±0.7%) below October 2007. Total sales for the August through October 2008 period were down 1.3 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The August to September 2008 percent change was revised from –1.2 percent (±0.5%) to –1.3 percent (±0.3%).
Retail trade sales were down 3.1 percent (±0.5%) from September 2008 and were 5.0 percent (±0.7%) below last year. Motor vehicle and parts dealers sales were down 23.4 percent (±2.1%) from October 2007 and sales of furniture and home furnishings stores sales were down 13.5 percent (±3.3 %) 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 for Retail and Food Services for November is scheduled to be released December 12 at 8:30 a.m. EST.
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.
SOURCE: Advance Monthly Sales for Retail Trade and Food Services--OCTOBER 2008 (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. Timothy Winters (301) 763-2713.TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--October 2008
Estimates adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and 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) 2008 2008 2008 2007 2007 NAICS(1) Kind of Business Oct(3) Sep Aug Oct Sep Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 363,696 374,065 378,966 379,295 378,404 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 303,195 310,028 311,732 300,328 299,372 Retail ....................................... 324,796 335,299 340,422 341,863 341,093 GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 96,715 98,348 97,809 97,686 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 60,501 64,037 67,234 78,967 79,032 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 53,934 57,515 60,772 72,501 72,662 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 8,534 8,752 8,983 9,866 9,887 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,867 9,079 9,243 9,396 9,306 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 7,330 7,464 7,523 7,411 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,749 1,779 1,873 1,895 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 27,170 27,292 27,367 27,585 27,929 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 22,979 23,064 24,024 24,363 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 49,753 49,729 49,836 47,477 47,140 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 44,439 44,457 44,547 42,438 42,084 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,577 3,593 3,321 3,340 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 20,798 20,711 20,597 19,991 20,017 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 17,181 17,026 16,613 16,549 447 Gasoline stations................................ 38,275 43,821 43,988 38,109 37,388 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 18,064 18,328 19,014 18,816 18,974 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S) 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,273 3,332 3,398 3,393 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,185 2,294 2,199 2,218 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,187 7,303 7,498 7,441 7,418 452 General merchandise stores....................... 49,639 49,823 50,126 48,536 48,350 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 16,218 16,428 16,668 17,413 17,397 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 33,395 33,458 31,123 30,953 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 29,637 29,715 27,452 27,325 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 3,758 3,743 3,671 3,628 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,977 9,905 9,950 10,006 10,155 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 26,031 26,519 26,586 25,673 25,497 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 18,204 18,231 17,899 17,727 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 38,900 38,766 38,544 37,432 37,311 (*) Advance estimates are not available for this kind of business. (NA) Not available (S) Suppressed (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 & 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--October 2008
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes. (In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change) 10 month total % Chg. 2008 2008 2008 2007 2007 NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2008 from Oct(2) Sep Aug Oct Sep Code 2007 (a) (p) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 3,740,829 1.9 360,037 357,662 390,352 372,495 357,452 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 3,036,540 5.1 302,252 295,158 318,525 297,128 283,135 Retail ....................................... 3,356,190 1.6 320,670 320,098 349,495 335,100 320,887 GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 87,329 100,785 92,525 89,132 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 704,289 -9.8 57,785 62,504 71,827 75,367 74,317 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 638,726 -10.9 50,752 55,962 65,087 68,513 68,157 44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 44,404 51,406 55,842 55,373 4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 6,542 6,740 6,854 6,160 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 89,997 -7.0 8,491 8,603 9,450 9,787 9,541 4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,611 5,171 5,082 5,190 4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,992 4,279 4,705 4,351 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 86,408 1.7 7,899 8,184 9,161 8,377 8,347 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 6,568 7,412 6,643 6,596 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,616 1,749 1,734 1,751 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 280,096 -2.2 28,297 27,134 27,401 28,862 26,494 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 23,645 23,963 25,586 23,705 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 487,764 6.0 49,858 47,815 50,921 46,742 45,860 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 438,126 6.1 44,528 42,857 45,527 41,844 41,074 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,380 3,730 3,228 3,190 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 203,764 4.0 20,985 19,986 20,247 20,131 18,796 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 16,614 16,634 16,862 15,606 447 Gasoline stations................................ 435,601 18.5 39,155 43,602 47,639 38,757 37,126 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 173,548 0.6 17,371 16,242 19,370 17,913 17,016 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 782 794 867 794 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,077 3,159 3,344 3,203 44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 6,189 7,673 6,955 6,492 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 1,940 2,858 2,058 2,005 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 68,744 2.2 6,296 6,755 8,608 6,518 6,862 452 General merchandise stores....................... 471,255 4.5 47,724 44,169 50,333 46,110 43,796 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 153,424 -3.6 15,528 14,017 16,550 16,400 15,306 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 14,407 17,009 16,848 15,730 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 30,152 33,783 29,710 28,490 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 26,792 30,220 26,134 25,221 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 3,360 3,563 3,576 3,269 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 98,157 1.0 10,209 9,811 10,071 10,129 9,685 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 256,567 6.0 26,600 25,293 24,467 26,407 23,047 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 17,749 17,301 18,400 16,238 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 384,639 4.5 39,367 37,564 40,857 37,395 36,565 (*) 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 & 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 2A. ESTIMATED CHANGE IN SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--October 2008
Estimates adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and 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.)(*) Oct Sep 2008 2008 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Sep Oct Aug Sep Code 2008 2007 2008 2007 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... -2.8 -4.1 -1.3 -1.1 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -2.2 +1.0 -0.5 +3.6 Retail .................................. -3.1 -5.0 -1.5 -1.7 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -5.5 -23.4 -4.8 -19.0 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... -6.2 -25.6 -5.4 -20.8 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -2.5 -13.5 -2.6 -11.5 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -2.3 -5.6 -1.8 -2.4 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -0.4 -1.5 -0.3 -2.3 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 0.0 +4.8 -0.2 +5.5 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 0.0 +4.7 -0.2 +5.6 446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.4 +4.0 +0.6 +3.5 447 Gasoline stations................................ -12.7 +0.4 -0.4 +17.2 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... -1.4 -4.0 -3.6 -3.4 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -1.6 -3.4 -2.6 -1.6 452 General merchandise stores....................... -0.4 +2.3 -0.6 +3.0 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -1.3 -6.9 -1.4 -5.6 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +0.7 -0.3 -0.5 -2.5 454 Nonstore retailers............................... -1.8 +1.4 -0.3 +4.0 722 Food services & drinking places.................. +0.3 +3.9 +0.6 +3.9 (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate (*) Estimates shown in this table are derived from adjusted estimates provided in Table 1A of this report.TABLE 2B. ESTIMATED CHANGE IN SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--October 2008
Data not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and 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.)(*) Oct Sep 2008 2008 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Sep Oct Aug Sep Code 2008 2007 2008 2007 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... +0.7 -3.3 -8.4 +0.1 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +2.4 +1.7 -7.3 +4.2 Retail .................................. +0.2 -4.3 -8.4 -0.2 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -7.5 -23.3 -13.0 -15.9 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -9.3 -25.9 -14.0 -17.9 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -1.3 -13.2 -9.0 -9.8 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -3.5 -5.7 -10.7 -2.0 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +4.3 -2.0 -1.0 +2.4 445 Food & beverage stores........................... +4.3 +6.7 -6.1 +4.3 4451 Grocery stores.................................. +3.9 +6.4 -5.9 +4.3 446 Health & personal care stores.................... +5.0 +4.2 -1.3 +6.3 447 Gasoline stations................................ -10.2 +1.0 -8.5 +17.4 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +7.0 -3.0 -16.1 -4.5 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -6.8 -3.4 -21.5 -1.6 452 General merchandise stores....................... +8.0 +3.5 -12.2 +0.9 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +10.8 -5.3 -15.3 -8.4 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +4.1 +0.8 -2.6 +1.3 454 Nonstore retailers............................... +5.2 +0.7 +3.4 +9.7 722 Food services & drinking places.................. +4.8 +5.3 -8.1 +2.7 (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate (*) Estimates shown in this table are derived from not adjusted estimates provided in Table 1B of this report.
Current Quarter Retail E-Commerce Sales
Source: Retail Indicators Branch, a U.S. Census Bureau | Last Revised: November 14, 2008
