WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2009 AT 8:30 A.M. EST
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for December, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $343.2 billion, a decrease of 2.7 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 9.8 percent (±0.7%) below December 2007. Total sales for the 12 months of 2008 were down 0.1 percent (±0.4%)* from 2007. Total sales for the October through December 2008 period were down 7.7 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The October to November 2008 percent change was revised from -1.8 percent (±0.5%) to -2.1 percent (±0.3%).
Retail trade sales were down 2.7 percent (±0.5%) from November 2008 and were 10.8 percent (±0.7%) below last year. Gasoline stations sales were down 35.5 percent (±1.5%) from December 2007 and motor vehicle and parts dealers sales were down 22.4 percent (±2.3%) 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.
Percent Change in Retail and Food Services Sales
(Estimates adjusted for seasonal variation, holiday, and trading-day differences, but not for price changes)
The Advance Monthly Retail Sales for Retail and Food Services for January is scheduled to be released February 12, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. EST.
For information, visit the Census Bureau's Web site at <http://www.census.gov/retail>. This report is also available the day of issue through the Department of Commerce's STAT-USA (202-482-1986).
* 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.
SOURCE: Advance Monthly Sales for Retail Trade and Food Services--DECEMBER 2008 (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.TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--December 2008
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) 2008 2008 2008 2007 2007 NAICS(1) Kind of Business Dec(3) Nov Oct Dec Nov Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 343,242 352,627 360,296 380,592 384,163 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 284,232 293,200 300,673 304,577 306,483 Retail ....................................... 305,397 313,925 321,965 342,552 346,809 GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 95,709 95,170 97,951 98,487 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 59,010 59,427 59,623 76,015 77,680 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 52,475 52,825 53,106 69,638 71,297 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 8,431 8,586 8,658 9,715 9,797 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 8,982 9,073 8,935 9,378 9,718 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 7,248 7,122 7,520 7,834 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,825 1,813 1,858 1,884 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 25,056 25,816 26,571 27,517 28,316 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 21,605 22,407 23,913 24,224 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 48,694 49,369 49,422 48,089 47,813 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 43,479 44,071 44,106 43,011 42,773 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,606 3,611 3,378 3,333 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 20,924 20,839 20,741 19,890 19,969 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 17,206 17,149 16,575 16,578 447 Gasoline stations................................ 26,243 31,187 38,163 40,677 41,830 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 17,351 17,793 17,776 18,687 19,125 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S) 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,123 3,103 3,380 3,409 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,156 2,142 2,236 2,238 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,220 7,252 7,104 7,330 7,440 452 General merchandise stores....................... 49,058 49,725 49,323 49,250 48,707 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 16,081 16,465 16,189 17,336 17,367 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 33,260 33,134 31,914 31,340 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 29,629 29,460 28,267 27,680 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 3,631 3,674 3,647 3,660 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,666 9,616 9,905 9,847 9,922 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 24,762 25,242 25,744 26,157 26,492 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 17,761 17,871 17,908 18,373 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 37,845 38,702 38,331 38,040 37,354 (*) 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/epcd/www/naics.html (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/mrts/www/mrts.html (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--December 2008
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes. (In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change) 12 month total % Chg. 2008 2008 2008 2007 2007 NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2008 from Dec(2) Nov Oct Dec Nov Code 2007 (a) (p) (r) Retail & food services, total.................... 4,478,360 -0.1 396,150 343,733 357,686 429,953 381,344 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 3,668,624 3.0 340,045 293,597 300,652 360,089 313,157 Retail ....................................... 4,019,557 -0.5 358,305 306,811 318,895 391,457 345,596 GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 104,037 91,213 146,167 108,704 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 809,736 -11.9 56,105 50,136 57,034 69,864 68,187 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 731,885 -13.2 49,851 43,950 50,132 63,997 61,957 44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 34,694 39,391 53,038 50,912 4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 6,186 6,902 5,867 6,230 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 109,180 -8.0 9,839 9,144 8,675 11,172 10,737 4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 4,642 4,503 5,329 5,416 4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 4,502 4,172 5,843 5,321 443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 111,512 0.1 14,803 10,247 7,949 15,292 11,095 44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 8,234 6,267 12,430 8,993 44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 2,013 1,682 2,862 2,102 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 325,181 -3.6 22,147 23,417 27,865 23,429 27,226 4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 20,006 24,088 20,780 23,764 445 Food & beverage stores........................... 589,512 5.1 52,819 49,259 49,540 52,470 48,040 4451 Grocery stores.................................. 527,395 5.3 45,653 43,939 44,238 45,463 42,859 4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,631 3,597 4,611 3,450 446 Health & personal care stores.................... 247,022 4.0 23,498 19,880 20,865 21,839 19,610 44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 16,449 17,441 17,951 16,296 447 Gasoline stations................................ 489,252 9.9 24,878 28,661 39,155 38,358 39,111 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 220,795 -1.7 28,296 19,184 17,165 31,235 20,888 44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 868 807 1,491 969 44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,307 3,091 4,904 3,665 44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 7,975 6,757 11,283 8,385 4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,150 2,050 2,936 2,242 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 88,327 1.1 12,159 7,484 6,223 12,072 7,961 452 General merchandise stores....................... 595,536 3.3 69,593 54,745 47,675 71,346 54,156 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 200,437 -4.5 27,380 19,622 15,539 29,700 20,965 4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 20,181 15,971 30,490 21,538 4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 35,123 32,136 41,646 33,191 45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 31,140 28,458 36,266 29,092 45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 3,983 3,678 5,380 4,099 453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 119,120 0.2 11,812 9,197 10,143 11,687 9,989 454 Nonstore retailers............................... 314,384 3.6 32,356 25,457 26,606 32,693 28,596 4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 17,956 18,425 23,030 19,898 722 Food services & drinking places.................. 458,803 3.7 37,845 36,922 38,791 38,496 35,748 (*) 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/epcd/www/naics.html (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--December 2008
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.)(*) Dec Nov 2008 2008 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Nov Dec Oct Nov Code 2008 2007 2008 2007 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... -2.7 -9.8 -2.1 -8.2 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -3.1 -6.7 -2.5 -4.3 Retail .................................. -2.7 -10.8 -2.5 -9.5 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -0.7 -22.4 -0.3 -23.5 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... -0.7 -24.6 -0.5 -25.9 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -1.8 -13.2 -0.8 -12.4 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -1.0 -4.2 +1.5 -6.6 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -2.9 -8.9 -2.8 -8.8 445 Food & beverage stores........................... -1.4 +1.3 -0.1 +3.3 4451 Grocery stores.................................. -1.3 +1.1 -0.1 +3.0 446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.4 +5.2 +0.5 +4.4 447 Gasoline stations................................ -15.9 -35.5 -18.3 -25.4 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... -2.5 -7.1 +0.1 -7.0 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -0.4 -1.5 +2.1 -2.5 452 General merchandise stores....................... -1.3 -0.4 +0.8 +2.1 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -2.3 -7.2 +1.7 -5.2 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +0.5 -1.8 -2.9 -3.1 454 Nonstore retailers............................... -1.9 -5.3 -1.9 -4.7 722 Food services & drinking places.................. -2.2 -0.5 +1.0 +3.6 (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--December 2008
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.)(*) Dec Nov 2008 2008 adv. prel. from-- from-- NAICS Kind of Business Nov Dec Oct Nov Code 2008 2007 2008 2007 (p) (r) (r) (r) Retail & food Services, total.................... +15.2 -7.9 -3.9 -9.9 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... +15.8 -5.6 -2.3 -6.2 Retail .................................. +16.8 -8.5 -3.8 -11.2 441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... +11.9 -19.7 -12.1 -26.5 4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ +13.4 -22.1 -12.3 -29.1 442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. +7.6 -11.9 +5.4 -14.8 443 Electronics & appliance stores................... +44.5 -3.2 +28.9 -7.6 444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -5.4 -5.5 -16.0 -14.0 445 Food & beverage stores........................... +7.2 +0.7 -0.6 +2.5 4451 Grocery stores.................................. +3.9 +0.4 -0.7 +2.5 446 Health & personal care stores.................... +18.2 +7.6 -4.7 +1.4 447 Gasoline stations................................ -13.2 -35.1 -26.8 -26.7 448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... +47.5 -9.4 +11.8 -8.2 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ +62.5 +0.7 +20.3 -6.0 452 General merchandise stores....................... +27.1 -2.5 +14.8 +1.1 4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... +39.5 -7.8 +26.3 -6.4 453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... +28.4 +1.1 -9.3 -7.9 454 Nonstore retailers............................... +27.1 -1.0 -4.3 -11.0 722 Food services & drinking places.................. +2.5 -1.7 -4.8 +3.3 (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate (*) Estimates shown in this table are derived from not adjusted estimates provided in Table 1B of this report.
Current Quarter Retail E-Commerce Sales
Source: Retail Indicators Branch, U.S. Census Bureau | Last Revised: January 14, 2009
