Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS)

The Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS) transitioned to the Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES). The data formerly collected for the ARTS will now be collected as part of the AIES, which began data collection in March 2024.

Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES)

Benchmarking Notice

The 2022 tables released on August 31, 2026, contain the most recently revised Annual Retail Trade Survey data. The latest Detailed Operating Expenses data can be found, under the 2022 tables released on January 29, 2024. For more information about sampling, data collection, estimation, and benchmarking, see the Methodology section.

Employer Only Notice

Previously in the Annual Retail Trade Survey, firms without paid employees, or nonemployers, were included in the estimates through imputation or administrative data provided by other federal agencies. In addition to the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) changes, the Annual Retail Trade Survey restated data on September 25, 2024 to include employer-only time series to be aligned with the Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES). The change impacts the following tables:

Sales (1992 – 2022)
Sales Taxes (2004 – 2022)
Inventories (1992 – 2022)
Purchases (1992 – 2022)
Gross Margins (1993 – 2022)
Per Capita Sales (2000 – 2022)
U.S. Retail Trade Sales - Total and E-commerce (1998 – 2022)
Sales for U.S. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses (NAICS 4541) - Total and E-commerce by Primary Business Activity (2015-2022)

For additional information on Nonemployer Statistics (NES), please refer to their program methodology.