******************************************************************************* ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - OCTOBER 2010 ******************************************************************************* 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 $373.1 billion, an increase of 1.2 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month, and 7.3 percent (±0.7%) above October 2009. Total sales for the August through October 2010 period were up 6.3 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The August to September 2010 percent change was revised from +0.6 percent (±0.5%) to +0.7 percent (±0.3%). Retail trade sales were up 1.3 percent (±0.5%) from September 2010, and 7.7 percent (±0.7%) above last year. Auto and other motor vehicle dealers sales were up 14.7 percent (±2.5%) from October 2009 and nonstore retailers sales were up 13.5 percent (±3.1%) 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 November is scheduled to be released December 14, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. EST. TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--October 2010 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) 2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 NAICS(1) Kind of Business Oct(3) Sep Aug Oct Sep Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 373,103 368,576 365,992 347,674 343,179 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 306,098 304,777 303,161 288,886 288,933 Retail ....................................... 333,339 328,919 326,339 309,555 305,017 GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 95,931 95,716 93,544 93,171 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 67,005 63,799 62,831 58,788 54,246 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 60,343 57,111 56,174 52,588 48,076 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 7,593 7,647 7,635 7,378 7,427 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,647 8,708 8,584 8,345 8,242 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 6,727 6,621 6,672 6,596 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,981 1,963 1,673 1,646 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 24,451 23,996 23,697 21,796 22,182 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 19,251 19,123 18,742 19,177 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 49,396 49,269 49,205 48,260 48,284 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 43,934 43,901 43,863 43,114 43,102 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,504 3,492 3,370 3,370 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 22,174 22,204 22,122 21,449 21,392 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 18,683 18,752 18,348 18,372 447 Gasoline stations................................ 36,353 36,073 35,642 32,370 32,970 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 18,186 18,063 18,139 17,579 17,607 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S) 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,037 3,012 2,992 2,983 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,294 2,317 2,175 2,213 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,399 7,324 7,259 6,937 7,070 452 General merchandise stores....................... 51,083 50,981 50,938 50,065 49,632 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 15,352 15,456 15,478 15,698 15,616 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 35,525 35,460 34,367 34,016 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 31,087 31,032 30,269 29,956 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 4,438 4,428 4,098 4,060 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 10,180 10,238 10,102 9,398 9,304 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 30,872 30,617 30,185 27,190 26,661 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 23,299 23,021 20,144 19,919 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 39,764 39,657 39,653 38,119 38,162 (*) 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 2010 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. 2010 2010 2010 2009 2009 NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2010 from Oct(2) Sep Aug Oct Sep Code 2009 (a) (p) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 3,584,345 6.2 363,390 355,549 373,373 344,716 330,260 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 2,948,872 5.5 301,160 292,368 305,698 288,294 276,548 Retail ....................................... 3,189,106 6.6 322,910 316,923 332,491 305,758 292,976 GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 88,324 96,168 90,466 85,240 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 635,473 9.2 62,230 63,181 67,675 56,422 53,712 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 570,217 10.1 55,455 56,426 60,612 49,906 47,499 44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 45,951 49,085 40,656 37,578 4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 6,755 7,063 6,516 6,213 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 74,283 2.2 7,335 7,609 7,895 7,289 7,397 4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,191 4,260 3,952 4,057 4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,418 3,635 3,337 3,340 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 79,386 3.0 7,512 7,857 8,255 7,346 7,400 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 6,007 6,369 5,825 5,884 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,850 1,886 1,521 1,516 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 241,109 4.8 23,864 23,605 24,036 22,240 22,171 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 19,771 20,194 19,510 19,791 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 484,698 2.1 49,121 48,263 49,127 48,566 46,887 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 433,635 2.0 43,670 43,067 43,863 43,373 41,895 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,416 3,482 3,424 3,269 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 216,317 3.0 21,908 21,627 21,923 21,556 20,814 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 18,197 18,433 18,605 17,876 447 Gasoline stations................................ 359,615 17.2 37,116 35,965 37,816 33,276 32,673 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 168,400 4.0 17,647 16,539 18,300 17,400 15,964 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 633 581 677 640 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 2,943 2,858 3,025 2,864 44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 6,411 7,314 7,036 6,067 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,104 2,850 2,099 2,012 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 67,486 4.1 6,437 6,811 8,253 6,077 6,681 452 General merchandise stores....................... 481,954 2.9 49,860 46,251 50,011 48,896 44,535 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 141,571 -0.9 14,692 13,777 14,954 15,112 13,622 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 14,091 15,275 15,518 13,944 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 32,474 35,057 33,784 30,913 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 28,351 30,908 29,694 27,170 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 4,123 4,149 4,090 3,743 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 97,371 5.9 10,329 10,198 10,248 9,761 9,325 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 283,014 12.7 29,551 29,017 28,952 26,929 25,417 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 22,157 22,515 19,681 19,082 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 395,239 2.6 40,480 38,626 40,882 38,958 37,284 (*) 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 2010 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 2010 2010 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Sep Oct Aug Sep Code 2010 2009 2010 2009 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... +1.2 +7.3 +0.7 +7.4 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.4 +6.0 +0.5 +5.5 Retail .................................. +1.3 +7.7 +0.8 +7.8 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +5.0 +14.0 +1.5 +17.6 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... +5.7 +14.7 +1.7 +18.8 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -0.7 +2.9 +0.2 +3.0 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -0.7 +3.6 +1.4 +5.7 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +1.9 +12.2 +1.3 +8.2 445 Food & beverage stores........................... +0.3 +2.4 +0.1 +2.0 4451 Grocery stores.................................. +0.1 +1.9 +0.1 +1.9 446 Health & personal care stores.................... -0.1 +3.4 +0.4 +3.8 447 Gasoline stations................................ +0.8 +12.3 +1.2 +9.4 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +0.7 +3.5 -0.4 +2.6 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +1.0 +6.7 +0.9 +3.6 452 General merchandise stores....................... +0.2 +2.0 +0.1 +2.7 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -0.7 -2.2 -0.1 -1.0 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -0.6 +8.3 +1.3 +10.0 454 Nonstore retailers............................... +0.8 +13.5 +1.4 +14.8 722 Food services & drinking places.................. +0.3 +4.3 0.0 +3.9 (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 2010 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 2010 2010 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Sep Oct Aug Sep Code 2010 2009 2010 2009 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... +2.2 +5.4 -4.8 +7.7 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +3.0 +4.5 -4.4 +5.7 Retail .................................. +1.9 +5.6 -4.7 +8.2 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -1.5 +10.3 -6.6 +17.6 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -1.7 +11.1 -6.9 +18.8 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -3.6 +0.6 -3.6 +2.9 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -4.4 +2.3 -4.8 +6.2 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +1.1 +7.3 -1.8 +6.5 445 Food & beverage stores........................... +1.8 +1.1 -1.8 +2.9 4451 Grocery stores.................................. +1.4 +0.7 -1.8 +2.8 446 Health & personal care stores.................... +1.3 +1.6 -1.4 +3.9 447 Gasoline stations................................ +3.2 +11.5 -4.9 +10.1 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +6.7 +1.4 -9.6 +3.6 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -5.5 +5.9 -17.5 +1.9 452 General merchandise stores....................... +7.8 +2.0 -7.5 +3.9 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +6.6 -2.8 -7.9 +1.1 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +1.3 +5.8 -0.5 +9.4 454 Nonstore retailers............................... +1.8 +9.7 +0.2 +14.2 722 Food services & drinking places.................. +4.8 +3.9 -5.5 +3.6 (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 2010 (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.