*******************************************************************************
ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - February 2009
*******************************************************************************
Intention to Revise Retail Estimates: Monthly retail sales estimates will be revised based on the results of the 2007 Annual Retail Trade Survey. Revised not adjusted and corresponding adjusted data are scheduled for release on April 30, 2009.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $346.8 billion, a decrease of 0.1 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month and 8.6 percent (±0.7%) below February 2008. Total sales for the December 2008 through February 2009 period were down 9.4 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The December 2008 to January 2009 percent change was revised from +1.0 percent (±0.5%) to +1.8 percent (±0.2%).
Retail trade sales were down 0.1 percent (±0.7%)* from January 2009 and 9.8 percent (±0.7%) below last year. Gasoline stations sales were down 32.3 percent (±1.7%) from February 2008 and motor vehicle and parts dealers sales were down 26.0 percent (±2.1%) 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.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--February 2009
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)
2009 2009 2008 2008 2008
NAICS(1) Kind of Business Feb(3) Jan Dec Feb Jan
Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 346,810 347,191 340,987 379,355 381,421
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 290,023 287,872 283,444 305,148 306,045
Retail ....................................... 308,148 308,461 302,852 341,729 343,739
GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 95,743 93,448 97,659 98,191
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 56,787 59,319 57,543 74,207 75,376
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 50,162 52,738 50,952 67,831 69,076
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 8,449 8,392 8,443 9,466 9,670
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 9,217 9,110 8,473 9,346 9,409
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 7,344 6,695 7,522 7,593
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,766 1,778 1,824 1,816
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 24,759 24,810 25,142 27,593 27,480
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 20,569 20,886 23,550 23,715
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 48,851 49,213 48,273 48,395 48,210
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 43,545 44,006 43,167 43,400 43,276
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,589 3,528 3,413 3,397
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 21,035 20,903 20,865 20,240 20,159
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 17,179 17,230 16,813 16,750
447 Gasoline stations................................ 28,092 27,158 26,422 41,523 41,894
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 18,227 17,739 16,909 18,804 18,981
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 2,965 2,949 3,372 3,368
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,091 2,124 2,236 2,247
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,369 7,351 7,178 7,328 7,436
452 General merchandise stores....................... 50,315 49,686 49,162 49,207 49,071
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 16,147 15,973 16,131 17,076 17,134
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 33,713 33,031 32,131 31,937
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 30,020 29,497 28,415 28,150
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 3,693 3,534 3,716 3,787
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,424 9,221 9,298 9,831 10,028
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 25,623 25,559 25,144 25,789 26,025
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 18,257 18,123 17,579 17,864
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 38,662 38,730 38,135 37,626 37,682
(*) 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--February 2009
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes.
(In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change)
2 month total
% Chg. 2009 2009 2008 2008 2008
NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2009 from Feb(2) Jan Dec Feb Jan
Code 2008 (a) (p) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 624,162 -10.3 305,943 318,219 392,839 348,876 346,951
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 520,151 -6.9 254,423 265,728 338,355 278,636 280,111
Retail ....................................... 552,379 -11.7 270,915 281,464 354,475 313,244 312,020
GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 84,040 137,393 87,385 84,711
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 104,011 -24.1 51,520 52,491 54,484 70,240 66,840
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 92,165 -26.5 45,597 46,568 48,150 64,304 61,063
44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 36,334 38,920 51,188 49,443
4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 5,923 6,334 5,936 5,777
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 15,241 -13.8 7,520 7,721 9,861 8,822 8,858
4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,396 4,692 5,063 4,989
4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,325 5,169 3,759 3,869
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 17,028 -3.7 8,425 8,603 13,828 8,857 8,832
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 6,955 11,060 7,146 7,092
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,648 2,768 1,711 1,740
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 37,576 -14.0 18,547 19,029 22,253 21,783 21,906
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 16,599 19,006 19,264 19,707
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 92,752 0.5 44,034 48,718 52,476 45,351 46,981
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 83,808 -0.0 39,582 44,226 45,498 40,970 42,843
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,094 4,766 2,976 2,830
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 40,907 1.5 20,004 20,903 23,431 20,078 20,219
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 17,368 19,108 16,712 16,968
447 Gasoline stations................................ 48,865 -34.6 23,934 24,931 25,022 36,789 37,914
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 28,953 -5.3 15,078 13,875 27,390 16,128 14,459
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 663 1,231 722 731
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 2,283 4,229 2,785 2,570
44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 5,463 10,789 5,680 5,325
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 1,662 2,751 1,999 1,744
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 12,863 -1.6 5,733 7,130 11,994 6,024 7,049
452 General merchandise stores....................... 87,006 0.9 43,622 43,384 69,657 44,205 42,052
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 25,929 -7.1 13,228 12,701 27,505 14,490 13,412
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 13,038 28,230 14,891 13,790
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 30,683 42,152 29,715 28,640
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 27,618 36,989 26,426 25,504
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 3,065 5,163 3,289 3,136
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 16,728 -8.5 8,253 8,475 11,160 9,025 9,253
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 50,449 -5.9 24,245 26,204 32,919 25,942 27,657
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 17,435 24,448 16,401 17,507
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 71,783 1.7 35,028 36,755 38,364 35,632 34,931
(*) 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--February 2009
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.)(*)
Feb Jan
2009 2009
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Jan Feb Dec Jan
Code 2009 2008 2008 2008
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -0.1 -8.6 +1.8 -9.0
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.7 -5.0 +1.6 -5.9
Retail .................................. -0.1 -9.8 +1.9 -10.3
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -4.3 -23.5 +3.1 -21.3
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... -4.9 -26.0 +3.5 -23.7
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +0.7 -10.7 -0.6 -13.2
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +1.2 -1.4 +7.5 -3.2
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -0.2 -10.3 -1.3 -9.7
445 Food & beverage stores........................... -0.7 +0.9 +1.9 +2.1
4451 Grocery stores.................................. -1.0 +0.3 +1.9 +1.7
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.6 +3.9 +0.2 +3.7
447 Gasoline stations................................ +3.4 -32.3 +2.8 -35.2
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +2.8 -3.1 +4.9 -6.5
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +0.2 +0.6 +2.4 -1.1
452 General merchandise stores....................... +1.3 +2.3 +1.1 +1.3
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +1.1 -5.4 -1.0 -6.8
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +2.2 -4.1 -0.8 -8.0
454 Nonstore retailers............................... +0.3 -0.6 +1.7 -1.8
722 Food services & drinking places.................. -0.2 +2.8 +1.6 +2.8
(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--February 2009
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.)(*)
Feb Jan
2009 2009
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Jan Feb Dec Jan
Code 2009 2008 2008 2008
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -3.9 -12.3 -19.0 -8.3
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -4.3 -8.7 -21.5 -5.1
Retail .................................. -3.7 -13.5 -20.6 -9.8
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -1.8 -26.7 -3.7 -21.5
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -2.1 -29.1 -3.3 -23.7
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -2.6 -14.8 -21.7 -12.8
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -2.1 -4.9 -37.8 -2.6
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -2.5 -14.9 -14.5 -13.1
445 Food & beverage stores........................... -9.6 -2.9 -7.2 +3.7
4451 Grocery stores.................................. -10.5 -3.4 -2.8 +3.2
446 Health & personal care stores.................... -4.3 -0.4 -10.8 +3.4
447 Gasoline stations................................ -4.0 -34.9 -0.4 -34.2
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +8.7 -6.5 -49.3 -4.0
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -19.6 -4.8 -40.6 +1.1
452 General merchandise stores....................... +0.5 -1.3 -37.7 +3.2
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +4.1 -8.7 -53.8 -5.3
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -2.6 -8.6 -24.1 -8.4
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -7.5 -6.5 -20.4 -5.3
722 Food services & drinking places.................. -4.7 -1.7 -4.2 +5.2
(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--FEBRUARY 2009 (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.