FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009, AT 8:30 A.M. EST


Timothy Winters / Ian Thomas                                                                                                                                                                                            CB09-166
Service Sector Statistics Division
(301) 763-2713

ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL TRADE AND FOOD SERVICES


OCTOBER 2009

Special Notice - Beginning with the December 11, 2009 release for November 2009, estimates in this release will be based on a new sample. A new sample for the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey is selected about once every two and a half years. For further information on the sample revision, see our website at http://www.census.gov/retail

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 $347.5 billion, an increase of 1.4 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month, but 1.7 percent (±0.5%) below October 2008. Total sales for the August through October 2009 period were up 1.5 percent (±0.3%) from the same period a year ago. The August to September 2009 percent change was revised from -1.5 percent (±0.5%) to -2.3 percent (±0.3%).

Retail trade sales were up 1.4 percent (±0.7%) from September 2009, but 2.1 percent (±0.5%) below last year. Gasoline stations sales were down 15.0 percent (±1.3%) from October 2008 and building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers were down 15.0 percent (±1.8%) 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 11, 2009 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.


TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--October 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 2009 2008 2008 NAICS(1) Kind of Business Oct(3) Sep Aug Oct Sep Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 347,483 342,783 350,800 353,641 365,855 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 288,468 287,809 286,661 296,142 303,757 Retail ....................................... 309,094 304,849 312,879 315,802 327,651 GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 93,796 93,401 94,056 95,217 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 59,015 54,974 64,139 57,499 62,098 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 52,677 48,619 57,736 50,890 55,521 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 7,699 7,761 7,696 8,335 8,363 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,343 8,394 8,316 8,969 9,143 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 6,594 6,546 7,082 7,303 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,800 1,770 1,887 1,840 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 22,557 23,116 23,249 26,540 26,726 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 19,417 19,389 22,348 22,435 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 49,590 49,516 49,222 49,355 49,453 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 44,282 44,203 43,890 44,120 44,245 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,487 3,500 3,512 3,488 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 21,460 21,363 21,110 20,580 20,565 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 17,739 17,553 17,118 17,062 447 Gasoline stations................................ 31,464 31,458 31,165 37,030 42,319 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 17,647 17,577 17,465 17,382 17,639 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S) 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 2,904 2,931 2,990 3,121 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,179 2,198 2,141 2,143 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,202 7,289 7,303 7,010 7,169 452 General merchandise stores....................... 49,948 49,567 49,407 49,196 49,672 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 15,602 15,557 15,584 16,070 16,286 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 34,010 33,823 33,126 33,386 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 30,031 29,892 29,393 29,627 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 3,979 3,931 3,733 3,759 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,615 9,525 9,512 9,746 9,743 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 24,554 24,309 24,295 24,160 24,761 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 17,665 17,618 16,674 16,905 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 38,389 37,934 37,921 37,839 38,204 (*) 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/eos/www/naics (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/retail (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 2009

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. 2009 2009 2009 2008 2008 NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2009 from Oct(2) Sep Aug Oct Sep Code 2008 (a) (p) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 3,384,719 -8.2 346,584 330,297 359,483 352,479 352,554 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 2,797,197 -6.6 289,286 276,082 290,828 296,500 291,226 Retail ....................................... 3,001,928 -9.2 307,197 293,349 320,197 314,224 315,534 GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 85,862 94,988 90,452 86,587 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 587,522 -14.9 57,298 54,215 68,655 55,979 61,328 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 522,275 -16.4 50,675 47,841 62,009 49,007 54,744 44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 37,113 50,054 39,063 44,022 4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 6,374 6,646 6,972 6,584 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 76,476 -12.4 7,753 7,761 7,988 8,393 8,338 4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,288 4,401 4,359 4,459 4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,473 3,587 4,034 3,879 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 78,602 -9.5 7,406 7,558 8,131 7,988 8,226 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 5,882 6,428 6,218 6,522 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,676 1,703 1,770 1,704 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 242,853 -12.6 23,069 23,208 23,415 27,676 26,895 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 20,349 20,261 23,912 23,445 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 486,612 0.1 50,047 48,022 49,727 49,403 47,664 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 435,818 -0.3 44,681 42,921 44,417 44,164 42,741 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,368 3,524 3,516 3,303 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 209,040 3.1 21,567 20,658 20,624 20,786 19,907 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 17,225 17,062 17,392 16,567 447 Gasoline stations................................ 297,419 -30.2 32,565 31,647 34,063 38,326 42,785 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 161,903 -4.9 17,473 15,954 17,971 16,860 15,929 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 705 667 764 729 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 2,791 2,831 3,002 2,984 44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 6,168 7,263 6,660 6,102 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 1,992 2,734 2,064 1,948 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 67,339 -1.4 6,374 6,888 8,296 6,190 6,710 452 General merchandise stores....................... 468,297 -0.7 48,771 44,472 49,186 47,705 44,179 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 142,778 -6.7 15,060 13,539 15,441 15,487 13,958 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 13,889 15,840 15,972 14,407 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 30,933 33,745 32,218 30,221 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 27,268 30,101 28,511 26,842 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 3,665 3,644 3,707 3,379 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 93,430 -4.2 10,011 9,457 9,423 9,984 9,686 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 232,435 -3.8 24,863 23,509 22,718 24,934 23,887 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 17,294 16,860 17,091 16,618 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 382,791 1.0 39,387 36,948 39,286 38,255 37,020 (*) 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/eos/www/naics (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 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.)(*) Oct Sep 2009 2009 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Sep Oct Aug Sep Code 2009 2008 2009 2008 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... +1.4 -1.7 -2.3 -6.3 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.2 -2.6 +0.4 -5.3 Retail .................................. +1.4 -2.1 -2.6 -7.0 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +7.4 +2.6 -14.3 -11.5 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... +8.3 +3.5 -15.8 -12.4 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -0.8 -7.6 +0.8 -7.2 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -0.6 -7.0 +0.9 -8.2 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -2.4 -15.0 -0.6 -13.5 445 Food & beverage stores........................... +0.1 +0.5 +0.6 +0.1 4451 Grocery stores.................................. +0.2 +0.4 +0.7 -0.1 446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.5 +4.3 +1.2 +3.9 447 Gasoline stations................................ 0.0 -15.0 +0.9 -25.7 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +0.4 +1.5 +0.6 -0.4 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -1.2 +2.7 -0.2 +1.7 452 General merchandise stores....................... +0.8 +1.5 +0.3 -0.2 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +0.3 -2.9 -0.2 -4.5 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +0.9 -1.3 +0.1 -2.2 454 Nonstore retailers............................... +1.0 +1.6 +0.1 -1.8 722 Food services & drinking places.................. +1.2 +1.5 0.0 -0.7 (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 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.)(*) Oct Sep 2009 2009 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Sep Oct Aug Sep Code 2009 2008 2009 2008 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... +4.9 -1.7 -8.1 -6.3 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +4.8 -2.4 -5.1 -5.2 Retail .................................. +4.7 -2.2 -8.4 -7.0 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +5.7 +2.4 -21.0 -11.6 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ +5.9 +3.4 -22.8 -12.6 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -0.1 -7.6 -2.8 -6.9 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -2.0 -7.3 -7.0 -8.1 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -0.6 -16.6 -0.9 -13.7 445 Food & beverage stores........................... +4.2 +1.3 -3.4 +0.8 4451 Grocery stores.................................. +4.1 +1.2 -3.4 +0.4 446 Health & personal care stores.................... +4.4 +3.8 +0.2 +3.8 447 Gasoline stations................................ +2.9 -15.0 -7.1 -26.0 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +9.5 +3.6 -11.2 +0.2 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -7.5 +3.0 -17.0 +2.7 452 General merchandise stores....................... +9.7 +2.2 -9.6 +0.7 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +11.2 -2.8 -12.3 -3.0 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +5.9 +0.3 +0.4 -2.4 454 Nonstore retailers............................... +5.8 -0.3 +3.5 -1.6 722 Food services & drinking places.................. +6.6 +3.0 -6.0 -0.2 (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--OCTOBER 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.

Survey Description

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/retail.

Reliability of Estimates

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.


(1) Estimated measures of sampling variability are based on estimates not adjusted for seasonal variation, or holiday, or trading-day differences. Medians are based on estimates for the most recent 12 months.

(2) These columns provide measures of the difference between the advance-to-preliminary and preliminary-to-final estimates of month-to-month change for the same pair of months as measured by the Advance sample and MRTS sample. The average and median differences are based on estimates for the most recent 12 months.

Note: Additional information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, sample design, and definitions may be found at http://www.census.gov/retail
o Current Quarter Retail E-Commerce Sales

Source: Retail Indicators Branch, U.S. Census Bureau | Last Revised: November 16, 2009