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ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - April 2012
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Notice of Revision: Monthly retail sales and inventories were revised based on the results of the 2010 Annual Retail Trade Survey. The Annual Revision of Monthly Retail and Food Services showing revised estimates can be found on our website at http://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/benchmark/2012/html/annrev12.html.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $408.0 billion, an increase of 0.1 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month and 6.4 percent (±0.7%) above April 2011. Total sales for the February through April 2012 period were up 6.6 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The February to March 2012 percent change was revised from 0.8 percent (±0.5) to 0.7 percent (±0.3%).
Retail trade sales were up 0.1 percent (±0.5%)* from March 2012 and 6.1 percent (±0.7%) above last year. Nonstore retailers sales were up 11.0 percent (±3.1%) from April 2011 and building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers were up 10.3 percent (±2.8%) 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.
* 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 May is scheduled to be released June 13, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--April 2012
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)
2012 2012 2012 2011 2011
NAICS(1) Kind of Business Apr(3) Mar Feb Apr Mar
Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 408,039 407,446 404,692 383,639 382,115
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 334,475 334,220 331,602 315,778 313,991
Retail ....................................... 364,163 363,736 361,364 343,220 341,428
GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 100,502 100,056 96,728 96,531
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 73,564 73,226 73,090 67,861 68,124
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 66,440 66,227 65,983 61,175 61,373
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 7,892 7,837 7,839 7,334 7,471
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,428 8,408 8,309 8,290 8,452
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 6,277 6,228 6,339 6,487
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 2,131 2,081 1,951 1,965
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 25,147 25,598 24,931 22,803 22,507
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 21,398 20,963 19,360 19,088
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 52,709 52,536 52,195 51,090 50,484
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 47,295 47,081 46,776 45,934 45,372
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,727 3,712 3,546 3,546
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 23,251 23,110 23,056 22,272 22,651
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 19,185 19,207 18,903 19,166
447 Gasoline stations................................ 46,639 46,781 46,310 44,207 43,555
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 19,736 19,879 19,904 18,728 18,588
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,485 3,447 3,146 3,178
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,411 2,448 2,218 2,234
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,502 7,447 7,396 6,996 7,046
452 General merchandise stores....................... 53,696 53,765 53,431 52,350 51,915
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 15,280 15,492 15,451 15,681 15,420
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 38,273 37,980 36,669 36,495
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 33,312 33,135 32,265 32,158
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 4,961 4,845 4,404 4,337
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 10,135 10,057 10,041 9,344 9,147
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 35,464 35,092 34,862 31,945 31,488
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 27,207 26,990 24,294 23,888
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 43,876 43,710 43,328 40,419 40,687
(*) 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-13ARIMA-SEATS 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--April 2012
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes.
(In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change)
4 month total
% Chg. 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011
NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2012 from Apr(2) Mar Feb Apr Mar
Code 2011 (a) (p) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 1,558,711 7.2 401,627 420,017 376,652 384,506 390,622
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 1,268,110 7.1 326,995 337,908 305,549 313,654 314,066
Retail ....................................... 1,387,553 7.0 357,575 374,034 335,404 342,996 348,836
GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 99,314 91,461 92,521 93,171
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 290,601 7.7 74,632 82,109 71,103 70,852 76,556
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 263,438 7.8 67,636 74,837 64,465 64,173 69,413
44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 61,420 52,960 52,534 56,717
4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 7,272 6,638 6,679 7,143
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 29,856 8.8 7,300 8,049 7,424 6,960 7,605
4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,524 4,436 3,912 4,316
4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,525 2,988 3,048 3,289
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 30,891 1.4 7,250 8,157 7,949 7,214 8,092
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 5,932 6,047 5,509 6,072
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 2,225 1,902 1,705 2,020
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 91,034 12.7 27,703 25,323 19,280 25,222 22,643
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 21,056 16,812 20,464 19,145
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 203,734 4.2 51,287 53,066 49,208 50,985 50,069
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 184,160 4.0 46,160 47,834 44,437 45,888 45,327
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,608 3,248 3,429 3,308
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 92,349 3.3 22,902 24,057 22,618 22,250 23,625
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 19,895 18,823 18,808 19,913
447 Gasoline stations................................ 177,290 8.7 47,385 47,623 41,540 45,268 43,860
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 71,006 7.5 18,805 20,087 17,831 18,498 18,117
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 664 583 749 650
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,771 2,999 3,448 3,327
44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 7,943 6,564 7,117 7,060
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,519 2,365 2,280 2,245
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 26,658 6.5 6,587 7,171 6,131 6,401 6,574
452 General merchandise stores....................... 199,740 4.4 51,344 52,903 49,130 50,733 49,927
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 53,998 0.4 14,013 14,784 13,482 14,598 14,264
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 15,025 13,702 14,839 14,502
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 38,119 35,648 36,135 35,663
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 33,079 31,147 31,749 31,322
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 5,040 4,501 4,386 4,341
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 37,164 9.4 9,463 9,768 9,347 8,944 8,937
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 137,230 10.7 32,917 35,721 33,843 29,669 32,831
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 26,962 24,885 22,545 24,199
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 171,158 8.9 44,052 45,983 41,248 41,510 41,786
(*) 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--April 2012
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.)(*)
Apr Mar
2012 2012
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Mar Apr Feb Mar
Code 2012 2011 2012 2011
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... +0.1 +6.4 +0.7 +6.6
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.1 +5.9 +0.8 +6.4
Retail .................................. +0.1 +6.1 +0.7 +6.5
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +0.5 +8.4 +0.2 +7.5
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... +0.3 +8.6 +0.4 +7.9
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +0.7 +7.6 0.0 +4.9
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +0.2 +1.7 +1.2 -0.5
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -1.8 +10.3 +2.7 +13.7
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +0.3 +3.2 +0.7 +4.1
4451 Grocery stores.................................. +0.5 +3.0 +0.7 +3.8
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.6 +4.4 +0.2 +2.0
447 Gasoline stations................................ -0.3 +5.5 +1.0 +7.4
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... -0.7 +5.4 -0.1 +6.9
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +0.7 +7.2 +0.7 +5.7
452 General merchandise stores....................... -0.1 +2.6 +0.6 +3.6
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -1.4 -2.6 +0.3 +0.5
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +0.8 +8.5 +0.2 +9.9
454 Nonstore retailers............................... +1.1 +11.0 +0.7 +11.4
722 Food services & drinking places.................. +0.4 +8.6 +0.9 +7.4
(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--April 2012
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.)(*)
Apr Mar
2012 2012
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Mar Apr Feb Mar
Code 2012 2011 2012 2011
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -4.4 +4.5 +11.5 +7.5
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -3.2 +4.3 +10.6 +7.6
Retail .................................. -4.4 +4.3 +11.5 +7.2
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -9.1 +5.3 +15.5 +7.3
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -9.6 +5.4 +16.1 +7.8
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -9.3 +4.9 +8.4 +5.8
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -11.1 +0.5 +2.6 +0.8
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +9.4 +9.8 +31.3 +11.8
445 Food & beverage stores........................... -3.4 +0.6 +7.8 +6.0
4451 Grocery stores.................................. -3.5 +0.6 +7.6 +5.5
446 Health & personal care stores.................... -4.8 +2.9 +6.4 +1.8
447 Gasoline stations................................ -0.5 +4.7 +14.6 +8.6
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... -6.4 +1.7 +12.7 +10.9
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -8.1 +2.9 +17.0 +9.1
452 General merchandise stores....................... -2.9 +1.2 +7.7 +6.0
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -5.2 -4.0 +9.7 +3.6
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -3.1 +5.8 +4.5 +9.3
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -7.8 +10.9 +5.5 +8.8
722 Food services & drinking places.................. -4.2 +6.1 +11.5 +10.0
(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--April 2012 (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. Ian Thomas (301) 763-2713.