To provide detailed industry measures of retail company activities. The United
States Code, Title 13, authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory
responses. Retail companies with one or more establishments that sell merchandise and
associated services to final consumers.
Companies provide data on dollar value of retail sales, sales taxes collected,
inventories, method-of-inventory valuation, cost of purchases, and account
receivables balances. Data collection begins the first week after the close of the year. Reported
data are for activity taking place over the prior calendar year. Samples are
re-selected every 5 years and updated annually. Survey has been conducted annually
since 1951 (except 1954).
A mail-out/mail-back survey of a sub-sample of about 22,000 firms selected from
the monthly retail trade survey panels. The annual survey consists of all
monthly survey panel firms that had payrolls during the reference year, plus administrative data
or imputed values to account for non-employer retail businesses.
There are currently about 31,000 companies in the monthly sample. The monthly
sample consists of 3 rotating panels of about 6,100 single-unit firms and 2,200 small
multi-unit firms; and a special panel of large multi-unit firms and other firms
with large sales.
The annual survey uses 2 of the 3 rotating monthly panels, and the special monthly
panel. Since 1977, the monthly retail trade survey has been benchmarked to the annual
retail trade report. Inventories have been similarly benchmarked since 1951.
Annual estimates are benchmarked to the most recent census of retail
trade. In addition, benchmarking the annual survey to the monthly
surveys greatly improved the quality of the monthly estimates and
allowed the sample to be reduced. Combined Annual and Revised Monthly
Retail Trade reports are released annually each spring. They contain
estimates of annual sales, per capita sales, gross margins, monthly and year-end
inventories, inventory/sales ratios, merchandise purchased, gross margin/sales
ratios, and accounts receivable balances for the U.S. by kind of business. Comparable
statistics are shown for the previous year, along with year-to-year percentage
changes. Monthly data, both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, for the most
recent 10 years are also presented.
These data are widely used throughout government, academic, and business
communities. The
Bureau of Economic Analysis uses the estimates as an input for estimating
Gross Domestic Product. The Bureau of the Census uses the data to benchmark
the monthly sales and inventory series. The Federal Reserve Board uses
accounts receivable balances for measuring consumer credit.
Retail merchants use data to determine market share. Market research firms use
the estimates to analyze market trends and to determine the direction of the
economy.
Provides the only current data on gross margin, accounts receivables owed to
retail firms. Annual
Capital Expenditures Survey EXPLORE INFORMATION CONTINUE OVERVIEW Last revised:
Thursday, 27-Jul-2006 11:10:44 EDT
ANNUAL RETAIL TRADE SURVEY
PURPOSE
COVERAGE
CONTENT
FREQUENCY
METHODS
PRODUCTS
USES
SPECIAL FEATURES
RELATED PROGRAMS