Summary of Findings


Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Tennessee's
30,582 retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $37.5 billion. In
1987, 29,373 retail stores had sales of $28.5 billion. The 1992 data
represent an increase of 31.5 percent in total retail sales for the
State. 

For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of new and used car
dealers accounted for 19.3 percent of the State's total sales by
retailers compared with 20.9 percent in 1987. Other leading retail
kinds of business in 1992 were grocery stores with 18.4 percent of
sales, department stores (including leased departments) with 11.2
percent, and gasoline service stations with 7.8 percent. 

For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged
$1.2 million per establishment, compared with $971 thousand in 1987. In
1992, department stores (including leased departments) averaged $15.4
million per establishment; new and used car dealers, $14.9 million;
miscellaneous general merchandise stores, $3.4 million; lumber and
other building materials dealers, $2.5 million; and grocery stores,
$2.0 million. 

For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee
averaged $102 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee
of $399 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $29 thousand per
employee average for restaurants. 

The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $4.2 billion,
compared with $3.2 billion for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of
establishments with payroll averaged 11.3 percent for all retailers,
25.4 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 5.5 percent for
gasoline service stations. 

There were 368,010 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 338,168
employees in 1987. Large employers included refreshment places with
63,316 employees, grocery stores with 60,372 employees, and restaurants
with 52,537 employees.