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ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - SEPTEMBER 2011
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for September, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $395.5 billion, an increase of 1.1 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 7.9 percent (±0.7%) above September 2010. Total sales for the July through September 2011 period were up 8.0 percent (±0.7%) from the same period a year ago. The July to August 2011 percent change was revised from virtually unchanged (±0.5%)* to +0.3 percent (±0.2%).
Retail trade sales were up 1.1 percent (±0.5%) from August 2011, and 8.1 percent (±0.7%) above last year. Gasoline stations sales were up 20.3 percent (±1.7%) from September 2010 and nonstore retailers sales were up 10.1 percent (±2.3%) 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 October is scheduled to be released November 15, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. EST.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--September 2011
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)
2011 2011 2011 2010 2010
NAICS(1) Kind of Business Sep(3) Aug Jul Sep Aug
Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 395,472 391,038 389,934 366,371 363,666
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 326,679 324,667 323,028 302,974 300,875
Retail ....................................... 353,826 349,905 348,967 327,405 324,572
GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 98,053 97,884 94,451 94,343
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 68,793 66,371 66,906 63,397 62,791
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 61,854 59,478 60,129 56,851 56,251
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 7,573 7,488 7,437 7,335 7,375
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,433 8,420 8,395 8,430 8,337
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 6,679 6,613 6,539 6,420
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,741 1,782 1,891 1,917
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 25,215 25,231 24,943 23,669 23,384
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 20,367 20,315 19,232 19,064
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 51,630 51,750 51,552 48,934 48,720
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 46,301 46,460 46,257 43,768 43,564
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,661 3,664 3,542 3,541
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 23,184 23,116 22,969 22,212 22,123
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 19,296 19,120 18,648 18,665
447 Gasoline stations................................ 45,681 45,124 44,763 37,976 37,115
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 19,124 18,879 18,948 17,767 17,832
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,022 3,168 3,061 3,065
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,298 2,294 2,197 2,219
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,464 7,487 7,324 7,060 7,041
452 General merchandise stores....................... 53,196 52,812 52,795 50,897 50,858
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 15,491 15,317 15,401 15,335 15,436
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 37,495 37,394 35,562 35,422
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 32,865 32,774 31,105 30,969
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 4,630 4,620 4,457 4,453
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 10,378 10,288 10,261 9,616 9,342
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 33,155 32,939 32,674 30,112 29,654
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 25,061 24,975 23,343 22,995
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 41,646 41,133 40,967 38,966 39,094
(*) 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.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/retail.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--September 2011
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes.
(In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change)
9 month total
% Chg. 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010
NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2011 from Sep(2) Aug Jul Sep Aug
Code 2010 (a) (p) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 3,443,873 8.1 382,009 401,951 391,878 351,696 369,199
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 2,826,679 7.6 314,954 330,226 322,077 290,020 303,114
Retail ....................................... 3,075,501 8.4 340,821 359,707 348,781 313,704 328,971
GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 98,890 93,731 87,029 94,605
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 617,194 10.4 67,055 71,725 69,801 61,676 66,085
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 556,383 10.9 59,998 64,177 62,895 55,032 59,120
44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 52,969 51,318 45,336 48,538
4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 7,548 6,906 6,644 6,965
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 65,237 1.0 7,671 7,892 7,422 7,357 7,611
4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,199 4,061 4,016 4,085
4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,693 3,361 3,341 3,526
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 70,324 -0.0 7,737 8,240 7,888 7,685 8,082
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 6,572 6,243 5,885 6,240
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,668 1,645 1,800 1,842
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 226,261 5.8 24,764 26,196 25,973 23,288 23,722
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 22,057 21,595 19,694 20,132
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 455,276 5.6 50,418 52,164 53,062 47,710 48,597
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 409,779 5.8 45,190 46,878 47,552 42,718 43,520
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,712 3,887 3,446 3,523
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 203,772 5.2 22,581 23,255 22,119 21,546 21,835
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 19,296 18,355 18,107 18,329
447 Gasoline stations................................ 403,045 19.5 45,681 48,238 48,120 37,596 39,528
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 156,606 5.9 17,578 19,057 17,755 16,229 17,960
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 594 634 601 551
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 2,829 2,867 2,957 2,875
44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 7,667 7,273 6,479 7,390
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,856 2,202 2,019 2,727
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 62,293 5.8 7,068 8,573 6,745 6,594 7,907
452 General merchandise stores....................... 446,918 3.5 48,368 51,797 51,160 46,166 49,848
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 125,312 -0.9 13,676 14,829 13,950 13,604 14,844
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 15,102 14,217 13,813 15,048
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 36,968 37,210 32,562 35,004
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 32,602 32,807 28,399 30,814
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 4,366 4,403 4,163 4,190
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 88,590 8.7 10,510 10,681 10,258 9,591 9,514
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 279,985 13.2 31,390 31,889 28,478 28,266 28,282
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 24,835 22,178 21,989 22,397
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 368,372 5.5 41,188 42,244 43,097 37,992 40,228
(*) 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.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--September 2011
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.)(*)
Sep Aug
2011 2011
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Aug Sep Jul Aug
Code 2011 2010 2011 2010
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... +1.1 +7.9 +0.3 +7.5
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.6 +7.8 +0.5 +7.9
Retail .................................. +1.1 +8.1 +0.3 +7.8
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +3.6 +8.5 -0.8 +5.7
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... +4.0 +8.8 -1.1 +5.7
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +1.1 +3.2 +0.7 +1.5
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +0.2 0.0 +0.3 +1.0
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -0.1 +6.5 +1.2 +7.9
445 Food & beverage stores........................... -0.2 +5.5 +0.4 +6.2
4451 Grocery stores.................................. -0.3 +5.8 +0.4 +6.6
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.3 +4.4 +0.6 +4.5
447 Gasoline stations................................ +1.2 +20.3 +0.8 +21.6
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +1.3 +7.6 -0.4 +5.9
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -0.3 +5.7 +2.2 +6.3
452 General merchandise stores....................... +0.7 +4.5 0.0 +3.8
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +1.1 +1.0 -0.5 -0.8
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +0.9 +7.9 +0.3 +10.1
454 Nonstore retailers............................... +0.7 +10.1 +0.8 +11.1
722 Food services & drinking places.................. +1.2 +6.9 +0.4 +5.2
(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--September 2011
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.)(*)
Sep Aug
2011 2011
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Aug Sep Jul Aug
Code 2011 2010 2011 2010
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -5.0 +8.6 +2.6 +8.9
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -4.6 +8.6 +2.5 +8.9
Retail .................................. -5.3 +8.6 +3.1 +9.3
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -6.5 +8.7 +2.8 +8.5
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -6.5 +9.0 +2.0 +8.6
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -2.8 +4.3 +6.3 +3.7
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -6.1 +0.7 +4.5 +2.0
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -5.5 +6.3 +0.9 +10.4
445 Food & beverage stores........................... -3.3 +5.7 -1.7 +7.3
4451 Grocery stores.................................. -3.6 +5.8 -1.4 +7.7
446 Health & personal care stores.................... -2.9 +4.8 +5.1 +6.5
447 Gasoline stations................................ -5.3 +21.5 +0.2 +22.0
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... -7.8 +8.3 +7.3 +6.1
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -17.6 +7.2 +27.1 +8.4
452 General merchandise stores....................... -6.6 +4.8 +1.2 +3.9
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -7.8 +0.5 +6.3 -0.1
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -1.6 +9.6 +4.1 +12.3
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -1.6 +11.1 +12.0 +12.8
722 Food services & drinking places.................. -2.5 +8.4 -2.0 +5.0
(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--September 2011 (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.