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ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - APRIL 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 April, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $389.4 billion, an increase of 0.5 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month, and 7.6 percent (±0.7%) above April 2010. Total sales for the February through April 2011 period were up 8.1 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The February to March 2011 percent change was revised from +0.4 percent (±0.5%)* to +0.9 percent (±0.4%).
Retail trade sales were up 0.6 percent (±0.5%) from March 2011, and 7.9 percent (±0.7%) above last year. Gasoline stations sales were up 21.8 percent (±1.7%) from April 2010 and nonstore retailers sales were up 15.5 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 May is scheduled to be released June 14, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--April 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 Apr(3) Mar Feb Apr Mar
Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 389,355 387,371 384,044 361,942 359,877
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 321,169 319,310 315,499 300,534 298,914
Retail ....................................... 348,677 346,658 343,733 323,276 321,187
GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 97,226 96,443 94,272 94,395
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 68,186 68,061 68,545 61,408 60,963
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 61,670 61,438 61,975 54,961 54,676
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 7,442 7,526 7,351 7,386 7,456
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,419 8,604 8,364 8,341 8,341
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 6,646 6,490 6,556 6,563
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,958 1,874 1,785 1,778
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 24,496 24,461 23,865 25,446 23,289
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 19,660 19,196 20,667 19,725
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 51,134 50,519 50,401 48,248 48,504
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 45,980 45,300 45,084 43,065 43,358
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,606 3,665 3,528 3,511
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 22,781 22,851 22,685 21,829 21,509
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 19,131 19,032 18,401 18,327
447 Gasoline stations................................ 45,783 44,572 42,802 37,576 37,790
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 18,734 18,683 18,495 17,787 17,878
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,194 3,188 3,077 3,118
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,278 2,264 2,181 2,211
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,196 7,332 7,337 6,992 6,958
452 General merchandise stores....................... 52,106 52,070 51,877 50,835 50,834
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 15,347 15,385 15,463 15,654 15,959
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 36,685 36,414 35,181 34,875
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 32,115 31,857 30,709 30,501
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 4,570 4,557 4,472 4,374
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,749 9,659 9,897 9,169 9,184
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 32,651 32,320 32,114 28,259 28,481
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 24,656 24,402 21,629 21,905
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 40,678 40,713 40,311 38,666 38,690
(*) 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--April 2011
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. 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010
NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2011 from Apr(2) Mar Feb Apr Mar
Code 2010 (a) (p) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 1,471,037 8.1 390,415 394,585 343,955 362,038 365,498
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 1,202,625 6.7 319,276 318,715 280,777 297,491 297,866
Retail ....................................... 1,313,321 8.4 348,476 352,813 306,748 322,599 326,034
GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 93,951 85,219 88,208 91,292
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 268,412 14.6 71,139 75,870 63,178 64,547 67,632
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 243,324 15.8 64,630 68,810 57,265 57,984 61,018
44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 55,992 46,391 46,802 49,719
4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 7,060 5,913 6,563 6,614
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 27,757 0.1 7,048 7,669 6,638 6,980 7,531
4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,324 3,924 3,760 4,183
4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,345 2,714 3,220 3,348
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 31,002 0.4 7,245 8,252 7,887 7,176 7,942
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 6,261 6,191 5,612 6,176
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,991 1,696 1,564 1,766
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 87,287 2.8 27,497 24,547 17,618 29,140 23,203
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 19,640 14,723 22,444 19,607
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 195,947 4.7 50,985 50,129 46,008 47,230 48,279
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 177,249 5.0 45,934 45,300 41,477 42,247 43,445
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,350 3,104 3,376 3,258
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 90,433 5.7 22,690 23,834 21,483 21,698 22,670
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 19,858 17,966 18,383 19,262
447 Gasoline stations................................ 166,213 16.9 46,836 44,394 36,767 38,553 37,412
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 66,150 5.4 18,559 18,123 15,799 17,087 17,431
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 646 536 669 602
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,248 2,601 3,268 3,202
44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 7,080 5,949 6,824 6,975
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,298 2,078 2,168 2,288
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 25,935 4.7 6,455 6,848 5,862 6,104 6,520
452 General merchandise stores....................... 191,726 2.7 50,394 50,234 46,293 48,229 49,102
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 53,224 -2.1 14,310 14,100 12,806 14,309 14,751
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 14,370 13,044 14,510 14,968
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 36,134 33,487 33,920 34,351
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 31,601 29,436 29,542 30,043
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 4,533 4,051 4,378 4,308
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 35,778 7.7 9,279 9,476 8,833 8,806 8,976
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 126,681 13.9 30,349 33,437 30,382 27,049 29,336
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 24,656 21,645 20,721 21,905
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 157,716 5.2 41,939 41,772 37,207 39,439 39,464
(*) 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 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.)(*)
Apr Mar
2011 2011
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Mar Apr Feb Mar
Code 2011 2010 2011 2010
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... +0.5 +7.6 +0.9 +7.6
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.6 +6.9 +1.2 +6.8
Retail .................................. +0.6 +7.9 +0.9 +7.9
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +0.2 +11.0 -0.7 +11.6
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... +0.4 +12.2 -0.9 +12.4
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -1.1 +0.8 +2.4 +0.9
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -2.2 +0.9 +2.9 +3.2
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +0.1 -3.7 +2.5 +5.0
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +1.2 +6.0 +0.2 +4.2
4451 Grocery stores.................................. +1.5 +6.8 +0.5 +4.5
446 Health & personal care stores.................... -0.3 +4.4 +0.7 +6.2
447 Gasoline stations................................ +2.7 +21.8 +4.1 +17.9
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +0.3 +5.3 +1.0 +4.5
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -1.9 +2.9 -0.1 +5.4
452 General merchandise stores....................... +0.1 +2.5 +0.4 +2.4
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -0.2 -2.0 -0.5 -3.6
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +0.9 +6.3 -2.4 +5.2
454 Nonstore retailers............................... +1.0 +15.5 +0.6 +13.5
722 Food services & drinking places.................. -0.1 +5.2 +1.0 +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--April 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.)(*)
Apr Mar
2011 2011
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Mar Apr Feb Mar
Code 2011 2010 2011 2010
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -1.1 +7.8 +14.7 +8.0
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +0.2 +7.3 +13.5 +7.0
Retail .................................. -1.2 +8.0 +15.0 +8.2
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -6.2 +10.2 +20.1 +12.2
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -6.1 +11.5 +20.2 +12.8
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -8.1 +1.0 +15.5 +1.8
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -12.2 +1.0 +4.6 +3.9
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers +12.0 -5.6 +39.3 +5.8
445 Food & beverage stores........................... +1.7 +8.0 +9.0 +3.8
4451 Grocery stores.................................. +1.4 +8.7 +9.2 +4.3
446 Health & personal care stores.................... -4.8 +4.6 +10.9 +5.1
447 Gasoline stations................................ +5.5 +21.5 +20.7 +18.7
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +2.4 +8.6 +14.7 +4.0
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -5.7 +5.8 +16.8 +5.0
452 General merchandise stores....................... +0.3 +4.5 +8.5 +2.3
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +1.5 0.0 +10.1 -4.4
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -2.1 +5.4 +7.3 +5.6
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -9.2 +12.2 +10.1 +14.0
722 Food services & drinking places.................. +0.4 +6.3 +12.3 +5.8
(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 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.