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ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - MARCH 2011
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Notice of Revision: Monthly retail sales and inventories were revised based on the results of the 2009 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.gove/retail/mrts/www/benchmark/2011/html/annrev11.html.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $389.3 billion, an increase of 0.4 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month, and 7.1 percent (±0.7%) above March 2010. Total sales for the January through March 2011 period were up 8.1 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The January to February 2011 percent change was revised from +1.0 percent (±0.5%) to +1.1 percent (±0.2%).
Retail trade sales were up 0.3 percent (±0.5%)* from February 2011, and 7.3 percent (±0.7%) above last year. Gasoline stations sales were up 16.7 percent (±1.7%) from March 2010 and nonstore retailers sales were up 12.4 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 April is scheduled to be released May 12, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--March 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 Mar(3) Feb Jan Mar Feb
Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 389,320 387,813 383,660 363,495 355,458
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 320,644 317,964 314,531 301,039 297,802
Retail ....................................... 348,028 346,944 343,533 324,210 316,453
GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 98,007 96,653 95,876 95,291
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 68,676 69,849 69,129 62,456 57,656
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 62,132 63,203 62,525 56,033 51,346
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 7,932 7,659 7,560 7,725 7,714
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,759 8,581 8,456 8,511 8,749
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 6,660 6,541 6,702 6,917
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,921 1,915 1,809 1,832
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 25,026 24,483 24,676 23,826 22,463
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 19,506 19,689 19,941 18,657
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 50,869 50,816 50,475 48,945 49,145
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 45,436 45,305 45,080 43,626 43,851
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,616 3,544 3,454 3,438
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 22,983 22,826 22,946 21,615 21,509
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 19,150 19,211 18,429 18,331
447 Gasoline stations................................ 41,754 40,681 39,717 35,770 35,560
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 18,946 18,838 18,506 18,329 17,886
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,190 3,053 3,099 3,010
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,361 2,330 2,299 2,284
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,701 7,696 7,485 7,256 7,103
452 General merchandise stores....................... 52,145 51,938 51,428 50,868 50,717
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 15,414 15,448 15,277 15,946 15,821
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 36,490 36,151 34,922 34,896
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 31,958 31,674 30,597 30,615
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 4,532 4,477 4,325 4,281
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 10,466 10,695 10,369 9,753 9,417
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 32,771 32,882 32,786 29,156 28,534
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 24,527 24,403 21,864 21,242
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 41,292 40,869 40,127 39,285 39,005
(*) 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--March 2011
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes.
(In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change)
3 month total
% Chg. 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010
NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2011 from Mar(2) Feb Jan Mar Feb
Code 2010 (a) (p) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 1,089,157 8.0 396,270 347,574 345,313 369,339 317,961
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 889,179 6.4 319,873 283,263 286,043 300,064 264,903
Retail ....................................... 971,833 8.4 353,946 309,852 308,035 329,308 281,998
GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 86,659 83,181 92,552 83,866
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 199,978 15.4 76,397 64,311 59,270 69,275 53,058
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 181,446 16.6 69,526 58,336 53,584 62,589 47,392
44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 46,846 44,226 50,271 37,442
4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 5,975 5,686 6,686 5,666
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 21,644 0.6 8,106 6,893 6,645 7,810 6,935
4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,080 3,785 4,362 4,086
4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 2,813 2,860 3,448 2,849
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 24,242 0.1 8,398 8,068 7,776 8,109 8,198
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 6,320 6,037 6,300 6,516
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,748 1,739 1,809 1,682
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 60,555 7.1 24,856 17,862 17,837 23,563 16,625
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 14,766 14,865 19,682 14,235
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 146,331 3.6 50,587 46,462 49,282 48,771 44,829
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 132,198 3.8 45,572 41,771 44,855 43,757 40,343
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,063 2,931 3,205 2,895
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 68,074 6.2 23,925 21,593 22,556 22,761 20,369
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 18,058 19,134 19,369 17,304
447 Gasoline stations................................ 113,521 14.7 41,712 35,230 36,579 35,734 30,653
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 48,474 4.1 18,321 16,169 13,984 17,718 15,240
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 564 552 635 526
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 2,587 2,253 3,183 2,426
44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 5,897 5,189 6,894 5,607
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,151 1,771 2,368 2,067
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 20,338 5.0 7,123 6,157 7,058 6,741 5,647
452 General merchandise stores....................... 141,608 2.2 50,357 46,409 44,842 49,181 45,028
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 39,036 -3.2 14,168 12,874 11,994 14,783 13,126
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 13,133 12,226 15,116 13,424
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 33,535 32,848 34,398 31,902
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 29,529 29,235 30,138 28,135
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 4,006 3,613 4,260 3,767
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 28,426 9.0 10,204 9,436 8,786 9,555 8,321
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 98,642 14.3 33,960 31,262 33,420 30,090 27,095
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 21,829 23,354 21,973 18,884
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 117,324 4.7 42,324 37,722 37,278 40,031 35,963
(*) 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--March 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.)(*)
Mar Feb
2011 2011
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Feb Mar Jan Feb
Code 2011 2010 2011 2010
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... +0.4 +7.1 +1.1 +9.1
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.8 +6.5 +1.1 +6.8
Retail .................................. +0.3 +7.3 +1.0 +9.6
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -1.7 +10.0 +1.0 +21.1
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... -1.7 +10.9 +1.1 +23.1
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +3.6 +2.7 +1.3 -0.7
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +2.1 +2.9 +1.5 -1.9
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +2.2 +5.0 -0.8 +9.0
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +0.1 +3.9 +0.7 +3.4
4451 Grocery stores.................................. +0.3 +4.1 +0.5 +3.3
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.7 +6.3 -0.5 +6.1
447 Gasoline stations................................ +2.6 +16.7 +2.4 +14.4
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +0.6 +3.4 +1.8 +5.3
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +0.1 +6.1 +2.8 +8.3
452 General merchandise stores....................... +0.4 +2.5 +1.0 +2.4
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -0.2 -3.3 +1.1 -2.4
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -2.1 +7.3 +3.1 +13.6
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -0.3 +12.4 +0.3 +15.2
722 Food services & drinking places.................. +1.0 +5.1 +1.8 +4.8
(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--March 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.)(*)
Mar Feb
2011 2011
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Feb Mar Jan Feb
Code 2011 2010 2011 2010
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... +14.0 +7.3 +0.7 +9.3
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +12.9 +6.6 -1.0 +6.9
Retail .................................. +14.2 +7.5 +0.6 +9.9
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +18.8 +10.3 +8.5 +21.2
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ +19.2 +11.1 +8.9 +23.1
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +17.6 +3.8 +3.7 -0.6
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +4.1 +3.6 +3.8 -1.6
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +39.2 +5.5 +0.1 +7.4
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +8.9 +3.7 -5.7 +3.6
4451 Grocery stores.................................. +9.1 +4.1 -6.9 +3.5
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +10.8 +5.1 -4.3 +6.0
447 Gasoline stations................................ +18.4 +16.7 -3.7 +14.9
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +13.3 +3.4 +15.6 +6.1
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +15.7 +5.7 -12.8 +9.0
452 General merchandise stores....................... +8.5 +2.4 +3.5 +3.1
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +10.1 -4.2 +7.3 -1.9
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +8.1 +6.8 +7.4 +13.4
454 Nonstore retailers............................... +8.6 +12.9 -6.5 +15.4
722 Food services & drinking places.................. +12.2 +5.7 +1.2 +4.9
(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--MARCH 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.