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ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - November 2008
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for November, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $355.7 billion, a decrease of 1.8 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 7.4 percent (±0.7%) below November 2007. Total sales for the September through November 2008 period were down 4.5 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The September to October 2008 percent change was revised from –2.8 percent (±0.5%) to –2.9 percent (±0.2%).
Retail trade sales were down 2.0 percent (±0.5%) from October 2008 and were 8.5 percent (±0.7%) below last year. Motor vehicle and parts dealers sales were down 25.2 percent (±2.3%) from November 2007 and gasoline stations sales were down 22.0 percent (±1.7%) 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.
* 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.
The Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services for December is scheduled to be released January 14, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. EST.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--November 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 Nov(3) Oct Sep Nov Oct
Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 355,655 362,035 373,033 384,099 379,623
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 297,420 302,142 309,682 306,255 300,364
Retail ....................................... 317,141 323,581 334,415 346,627 342,153
GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 95,679 96,729 98,569 97,853
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 58,235 59,893 63,351 77,844 79,259
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 51,637 53,376 56,850 71,461 72,731
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 8,734 8,720 8,804 9,797 9,866
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 9,232 8,979 9,164 9,683 9,425
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 7,146 7,385 7,820 7,540
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,833 1,779 1,863 1,885
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 26,587 26,905 27,168 28,083 27,581
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 22,603 22,890 24,299 23,912
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 49,706 49,534 49,662 47,847 47,525
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 44,307 44,218 44,377 42,816 42,481
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,613 3,579 3,327 3,321
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 20,942 20,728 20,711 19,909 20,031
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 17,142 17,162 16,578 16,646
447 Gasoline stations................................ 32,653 38,274 43,934 41,875 38,072
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 18,021 17,876 18,241 19,123 18,886
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,113 3,247 3,432 3,405
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,144 2,171 2,256 2,187
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,350 7,150 7,325 7,419 7,432
452 General merchandise stores....................... 50,128 49,548 49,764 48,862 48,504
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 16,572 16,234 16,423 17,373 17,413
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 33,314 33,341 31,489 31,091
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 29,613 29,604 27,813 27,423
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 3,701 3,737 3,676 3,668
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,973 10,049 9,928 9,885 9,964
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 25,580 25,925 26,363 26,300 25,608
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 17,977 18,125 18,122 17,847
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 38,514 38,454 38,618 37,472 37,470
(*) 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--November 2008
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes.
(In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change)
11 month total
% Chg. 2008 2008 2008 2007 2007
NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2008 from Nov(2) Oct Sep Nov Oct
Code 2007 (a) (p) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 4,085,664 0.8 346,890 357,983 357,661 381,344 372,495
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 3,333,302 4.1 298,010 300,962 295,200 313,157 297,128
Retail ....................................... 3,665,069 0.4 310,340 319,183 320,124 345,596 335,100
GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 91,318 87,343 108,704 92,525
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 752,362 -11.4 48,880 57,021 62,461 68,187 75,367
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 680,776 -12.6 42,704 50,120 55,940 61,957 68,513
44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 39,360 44,391 50,912 55,842
4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 6,901 6,521 6,230 6,854
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 99,500 -7.4 9,293 8,685 8,619 10,737 9,787
4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,511 4,605 5,416 5,082
4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 4,174 4,014 5,321 4,705
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 96,968 0.9 10,496 7,959 8,188 11,095 8,377
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 6,267 6,573 8,993 6,643
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,692 1,615 2,102 1,734
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 304,206 -3.0 24,500 27,954 27,087 27,226 28,862
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 24,095 23,622 23,764 25,586
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 537,033 5.7 49,597 49,542 47,803 48,040 46,742
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 481,912 5.8 44,085 44,262 42,824 42,859 41,844
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,591 3,379 3,450 3,228
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 223,652 3.7 20,062 20,811 19,986 19,610 20,131
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 17,416 16,613 16,296 16,862
447 Gasoline stations................................ 465,694 14.5 29,943 39,193 43,714 39,111 38,757
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 192,696 -0.4 19,341 17,205 16,215 20,888 17,913
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 804 770 969 867
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,094 3,072 3,665 3,344
44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 6,764 6,191 8,385 6,955
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,045 1,934 2,242 2,058
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 76,346 1.5 7,622 6,263 6,768 7,961 6,518
452 General merchandise stores....................... 526,043 4.2 54,848 47,672 44,161 54,156 46,110
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 173,103 -3.9 19,672 15,535 14,017 20,965 16,400
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 15,971 14,407 21,538 16,848
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 32,137 30,144 33,191 29,710
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 28,458 26,792 29,092 26,134
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 3,679 3,352 4,099 3,576
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 107,899 0.7 9,680 10,251 9,831 9,989 10,129
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 282,670 4.4 26,078 26,627 25,291 28,596 26,407
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 18,444 17,744 19,898 18,400
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 420,595 4.2 36,550 38,800 37,537 35,748 37,395
(*) 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--November 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.)(*)
Nov Oct
2008 2008
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Oct Nov Sep Oct
Code 2008 2007 2008 2007
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -1.8 -7.4 -2.9 -4.6
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -1.6 -2.9 -2.4 +0.6
Retail .................................. -2.0 -8.5 -3.2 -5.4
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -2.8 -25.2 -5.5 -24.4
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... -3.3 -27.7 -6.1 -26.6
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +0.2 -10.9 -1.0 -11.6
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +2.8 -4.7 -2.0 -4.7
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -1.2 -5.3 -1.0 -2.5
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +0.3 +3.9 -0.3 +4.2
4451 Grocery stores.................................. +0.2 +3.5 -0.4 +4.1
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +1.0 +5.2 +0.1 +3.5
447 Gasoline stations................................ -14.7 -22.0 -12.9 +0.5
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +0.8 -5.8 -2.0 -5.3
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +2.8 -0.9 -2.4 -3.8
452 General merchandise stores....................... +1.2 +2.6 -0.4 +2.2
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +2.1 -4.6 -1.2 -6.8
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -0.8 +0.9 +1.2 +0.9
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -1.3 -2.7 -1.7 +1.2
722 Food services & drinking places.................. +0.2 +2.8 -0.4 +2.6
(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--November 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.)(*)
Nov Oct
2008 2008
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Oct Nov Sep Oct
Code 2008 2007 2008 2007
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -3.1 -9.0 +0.1 -3.9
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -1.0 -4.8 +2.0 +1.3
Retail .................................. -2.8 -10.2 -0.3 -4.7
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -14.3 -28.3 -8.7 -24.3
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -14.8 -31.1 -10.4 -26.8
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +7.0 -13.4 +0.8 -11.3
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +31.9 -5.4 -2.8 -5.0
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -12.4 -10.0 +3.2 -3.1
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +0.1 +3.2 +3.6 +6.0
4451 Grocery stores.................................. -0.4 +2.9 +3.4 +5.8
446 Health & personal care stores.................... -3.6 +2.3 +4.1 +3.4
447 Gasoline stations................................ -23.6 -23.4 -10.3 +1.1
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +12.4 -7.4 +6.1 -4.0
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +21.7 -4.3 -7.5 -3.9
452 General merchandise stores....................... +15.1 +1.3 +8.0 +3.4
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +26.6 -6.2 +10.8 -5.3
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -5.6 -3.1 +4.3 +1.2
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -2.1 -8.8 +5.3 +0.8
722 Food services & drinking places.................. -5.8 +2.2 +3.4 +3.8
(p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate
(*) Estimates shown in this table are derived from not adjusted estimates provided in Table 1B of this report.
SOURCE: Advance Monthly Sales for Retail Trade and Food Services--NOVEMBER 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.