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ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES SUMMARY - September 2008
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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for September, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $375.5 billion, a decrease of 1.2 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 1.0 percent (±0.7%) below September 2007. Total sales for the July through September 2008 period were up 0.8 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The July to August 2008 percent change was revised from -0.3 percent (±0.5%)* to -0.4 percent (±0.2%).
Retail trade sales were down 1.2 percent (±0.5%) from August 2008 and were 1.4 percent (±0.7%) below last year. Gasoline station sales were up 17.8 percent (±1.7%) from September 2007 and sales of food and beverage stores were up 5.1 percent (±0.8%) 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 October is scheduled to be released November 14, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. EST.
TABLE 1A. ESTIMATED MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, BY KIND OF BUSINESS--September 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 Sep(3) Aug Jul Sep Aug
Code (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 375,473 379,876 381,578 379,370 374,253
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 310,543 312,413 315,275 299,713 297,009
Retail ....................................... 337,218 341,418 343,097 341,944 337,195
GAFO(4).......................................... (*) 98,970 99,475 97,706 97,504
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 64,930 67,463 66,303 79,657 77,244
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 58,496 61,029 59,845 73,287 70,898
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 8,843 9,054 9,253 9,908 9,967
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 9,167 9,303 9,497 9,357 9,276
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) 7,541 7,682 7,462 7,428
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) 1,762 1,815 1,895 1,848
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 27,196 27,366 27,938 27,984 27,966
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) 23,092 23,687 24,413 24,577
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 49,598 49,844 49,527 47,197 46,687
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 44,374 44,530 44,253 42,170 41,732
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) 3,611 3,578 3,333 3,318
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 20,687 20,597 20,581 20,017 19,987
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) 16,999 16,986 16,620 16,604
447 Gasoline stations................................ 44,011 43,981 45,352 37,350 36,214
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 18,801 19,244 19,151 18,868 18,791
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) 3,334 3,327 3,415 3,399
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) 2,322 2,282 2,191 2,236
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 7,469 7,550 7,504 7,402 7,385
452 General merchandise stores....................... 50,081 50,306 50,503 48,426 48,346
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 16,517 16,766 17,031 17,443 17,528
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(5)............... (*) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) 33,540 33,472 30,983 30,818
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) 29,773 29,660 27,355 27,193
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) 3,767 3,812 3,628 3,625
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 9,990 10,046 10,302 10,118 10,065
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 26,445 26,664 27,186 25,660 25,267
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) 18,239 18,312 17,864 17,653
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 38,255 38,458 38,481 37,426 37,058
(*) 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--September 2008
Estimates not adjusted for seasonal variations and holiday and trading-day differences and price changes.
(In Millions of dollars and Annual Percent Change)
9 month total
% Chg. 2008 2008 2008 2007 2007
NAICS(1) Kind of Business 2008 from Sep(2) Aug Jul Sep Aug
Code 2007 (a) (p) (r)
Retail & food services, total.................... 3,380,599 2.5 357,296 390,525 391,683 357,452 392,108
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts)............ 2,734,014 5.4 294,745 318,664 319,776 283,135 306,475
Retail ....................................... 3,035,951 2.3 320,380 349,644 351,701 320,887 353,308
GAFO(3).......................................... (*) (*) (*) 100,929 95,039 89,132 99,584
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... 646,585 -8.4 62,551 71,861 71,907 74,317 85,633
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................. 588,141 -9.3 56,098 65,118 64,932 68,157 78,697
44111 New car dealers................................ (*) (*) (*) 51,434 50,281 55,373 63,508
4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores.................. (*) (*) (*) 6,743 6,975 6,160 6,936
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. 81,580 -6.2 8,666 9,461 9,429 9,541 10,605
4421 Furniture stores................................ (*) (*) (*) 5,158 4,911 5,190 5,548
4422 Home furnishings stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 4,303 4,518 4,351 5,057
443 Electronics & appliance stores.................... 78,499 2.5 8,172 9,163 8,948 8,347 9,243
44311,13 Appl., T.V. & camera........................... (*) (*) (*) 7,413 7,213 6,596 7,354
44312 Computer & software stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 1,750 1,735 1,751 1,889
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers 251,644 -2.3 26,981 27,399 30,879 26,494 29,663
4441 Building mat. & supplies dealers................ (*) (*) (*) 23,946 26,364 23,705 26,789
445 Food & beverage stores........................... 437,647 5.9 47,559 50,918 51,077 45,860 47,856
4451 Grocery stores.................................. 393,367 6.1 42,643 45,510 45,625 41,074 42,817
4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores...................... (*) (*) (*) 3,741 3,775 3,190 3,427
446 Health & personal care stores.................... 182,777 3.9 19,984 20,247 20,396 18,796 20,127
44611 Pharmacies & drug stores........................ (*) (*) (*) 16,642 16,833 15,606 16,637
447 Gasoline stations................................ 396,583 20.5 43,835 47,543 50,341 37,126 39,799
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... 156,763 1.4 16,680 19,518 17,722 17,016 19,091
44811 Men's clothing stores........................... (*) (*) (*) 800 751 794 769
44812 Women's clothing stores......................... (*) (*) (*) 3,157 2,991 3,203 3,232
44814 Family clothing stores.......................... (*) (*) (*) 7,805 7,156 6,492 7,540
4482 Shoe stores..................................... (*) (*) (*) 2,868 2,191 2,005 2,737
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores....... 62,608 3.0 6,931 8,592 6,986 6,862 8,323
452 General merchandise stores....................... 423,610 4.6 44,244 50,337 48,567 43,796 48,156
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... 137,931 -3.4 14,052 16,550 15,518 15,306 17,304
4521 Department stores (incl. L.D.)(4)............... (*) (*) (*) 17,009 15,937 15,730 17,781
4529 Other general merchandise stores................ (*) (*) (*) 33,787 33,049 28,490 30,852
45291 Warehouse clubs & supercenters................. (*) (*) (*) 30,220 29,393 25,221 27,383
45299 All other gen. merchandise stores.............. (*) (*) (*) 3,567 3,656 3,269 3,469
453 Miscellaneous store retailers.................... 88,042 1.1 9,844 10,132 10,431 9,685 10,412
454 Nonstore retailers............................... 229,613 6.4 24,933 24,473 25,018 23,047 24,400
4541 Electronic shopping & mail-order houses......... (*) (*) (*) 17,309 17,708 16,238 17,512
722 Food services & drinking places.................. 344,648 4.2 36,916 40,881 39,982 36,565 38,800
(*) 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--September 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.)(*)
Sep Aug
2008 2008
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Aug Sep Jul Aug
Code 2008 2007 2008 2007
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -1.2 -1.0 -0.4 +1.5
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -0.6 +3.6 -0.9 +5.2
Retail .................................. -1.2 -1.4 -0.5 +1.3
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -3.8 -18.5 +1.7 -12.7
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers............... -4.2 -20.2 +2.0 -13.9
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -2.3 -10.7 -2.2 -9.2
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -1.5 -2.0 -2.0 +0.3
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -0.6 -2.8 -2.0 -2.1
445 Food & beverage stores........................... -0.5 +5.1 +0.6 +6.8
4451 Grocery stores.................................. -0.4 +5.2 +0.6 +6.7
446 Health & personal care stores.................... +0.4 +3.3 +0.1 +3.1
447 Gasoline stations................................ +0.1 +17.8 -3.0 +21.4
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... -2.3 -0.4 +0.5 +2.4
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -1.1 +0.9 +0.6 +2.2
452 General merchandise stores....................... -0.4 +3.4 -0.4 +4.1
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -1.5 -5.3 -1.6 -4.3
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -0.6 -1.3 -2.5 -0.2
454 Nonstore retailers............................... -0.8 +3.1 -1.9 +5.5
722 Food services & drinking places.................. -0.5 +2.2 -0.1 +3.8
(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--September 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.)(*)
Sep Aug
2008 2008
adv. prel.
from-- from--
NAICS Kind of Business Aug Sep Jul Aug
Code 2008 2007 2008 2007
(p) (r) (r) (r)
Retail & food Services, total.................... -8.5 0.0 -0.3 -0.4
Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts ).......... -7.5 +4.1 -0.3 +4.0
Retail .................................. -8.4 -0.2 -0.6 -1.0
441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers.................... -13.0 -15.8 -0.1 -16.1
4411,4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers................ -13.9 -17.7 +0.3 -17.3
442 Furniture & home furnishings stores.............. -8.4 -9.2 +0.3 -10.8
443 Electronics & appliance stores................... -10.8 -2.1 +2.4 -0.9
444 Building material & garden eq. & supplies dealers -1.5 +1.8 -11.3 -7.6
445 Food & beverage stores........................... -6.6 +3.7 -0.3 +6.4
4451 Grocery stores.................................. -6.3 +3.8 -0.3 +6.3
446 Health & personal care stores.................... -1.3 +6.3 -0.7 +0.6
447 Gasoline stations................................ -7.8 +18.1 -5.6 +19.5
448 Clothing & clothing accessories stores........... -14.5 -2.0 +10.1 +2.2
451 Sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores........ -19.3 +1.0 +23.0 +3.2
452 General merchandise stores....................... -12.1 +1.0 +3.6 +4.5
4521 Department stores (ex. L.D.).................... -15.1 -8.2 +6.7 -4.4
453 Miscellaneous stores retailers................... -2.8 +1.6 -2.9 -2.7
454 Nonstore retailers............................... +1.9 +8.2 -2.2 +0.3
722 Food services & drinking places.................. -9.7 +1.0 +2.2 +5.4
(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--SEPTEMBER 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.