Coresight Research’s US Retail Sales Databank brings together retail sales data to help you understand the scale and trajectory of US retail. Our Databank provides easy access to retail sales in total and by sector, by year and by month, in dollar terms and in year-over-year growth. Monthly Retail Sales: We chart retail sales for each of the latest 24 months, and the unadjusted year-over-year change for each of the latest 12 months. US Retail Sales, Total and by Sector: We detail the latest 13 months of monthly retail sales. US Retail Sales Growth, Total and by Sector: We present the year-over-year growth for the latest 13 months of total retail sales and sales by sector. US Retail Sales (Annual): We chart the annual retail sales and unadjusted year-over-year change from 2010 to 2020. This measure of retail sales excludes sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, gasoline stations and food-service businesses. Breakdown of Retail Sales by Sector: We present the constitution of total retail sales by major retail sectors. We chart annual retail sales and year-over-year percentage changes for the following retail sectors. Descriptions for these sectors are provided after the charts. Food and beverage retailers Grocery retailers General merchandise retailers Department store retailers Home-improvement and gardening retailers Health and personal care retailers Clothing, footwear and accessories retailers Furniture and home-furnishing retailers Electronics and appliance retailers Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book retailers Miscellaneous retailers Nonstore retailers Note: Data on this page are based on non seasonally adjusted data published by the US Census Bureau. Monthly Retail Sales In the US Census Bureau’s first retail sales report for 2021, it reported that US retail sales growth accelerated to 10.8% year over year as stimulus checks boosted consumer spending. Nonstore retailers saw the strongest growth in January, of 22.1% year over year—even stronger than the sector’s revised 19.0% growth in December. Three other sectors saw double-digit year-over-year sales growth: home improvement (13.7%), food and beverage stores (11.6%), and sporting goods hobby, musical instruments and book stores (22.0%). The apparel sector was the hardest hit in January, experiencing a sales decline of 11.3% year over year. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research US Retail Sales, by Sector: Latest 13 Months (USD Bil.) wdt_ID Sector 19-May Jun 19 Jul 19 Aug 19 Sep 19 Oct 19 Nov 19 Dec 19 Jan 20 Feb 20 Mar 20 Apr 20 May 20 Jun 20 Jul 20 Aug 20 Sep 20 Oct 20 Nov 20 Dec 20 Jan 21 1 Total retail sales (excl. automobiles and gasoline) 311.4 317.8 311.4 317.8 291.8 313.1 331.2 382.6 288.9 283.7 317.9 284.0 326.2 335.0 342.7 339.8 330.6 346.4 358.4 412.9 320.2 2 Food and beverage retailers 65.8 63.8 65.7 66.2 61.7 64.1 65.4 69.0 63.6 61.0 79.9 70.1 75.4 70.8 74.1 71.4 68.8 71.1 71.0 76.3 71.0 3 - Grocery retailers 58.8 56.9 58.6 59.0 55.2 57.3 58.2 59.8 57.7 54.8 72.6 63.2 67.1 62.8 65.6 63.3 61.0 62.9 62.8 65.9 64.2 4 General merchandise retailers 60.7 58.7 58.5 61.5 54.5 58.6 66.0 77.6 52.9 53.8 63.0 54.1 61.7 59.9 61.2 62.2 58.0 62.5 66.4 76.7 57.0 5 - Department store retailers 11.3 10.6 10.6 11.6 9.8 10.5 13.4 18.4 8.5 9.1 7.9 5.8 8.3 8.7 9.3 9.6 8.9 9.4 10.8 14.3 8.3 6 Clothing, footwear and accessories retailers 22.9 21.0 21.7 23.7 19.5 21.2 24.9 34.5 16.6 18.8 10.8 2.9 8.7 15.6 17.0 18.1 18.0 19.2 20.2 30.4 14.7 7 Home-improvement and gardening retailers 38.4 34.6 34.8 33.4 30.9 33.7 30.7 29.5 27.9 27.2 33.1 36.8 43.3 43.2 40.5 37.8 38.1 38.8 35.7 35.5 31.7 8 Health and personal care retailers 30.8 29.0 29.5 30.0 28.7 31.1 29.3 33.2 30.0 28.7 32.0 26.7 27.8 29.7 30.8 30.4 30.9 31.9 30.3 35.4 31.0 9 Furniture and home-furnishing retailers 10.1 9.5 9.9 10.3 9.8 10.0 10.8 11.0 9.3 9.2 7.9 3.9 7.1 9.7 10.3 10.6 10.6 10.7 10.7 11.6 10.1 10 Electronics and appliance retailers 7.6 7.5 7.7 8.0 7.6 7.6 10.0 11.8 7.7 7.2 6.3 3.2 4.3 6.1 7.3 7.6 7.2 7.3 8.9 10.1 7.4 Grocery retailers are a subset of food and beverage retailers. Department store retailers are a subset of general merchandise retailers. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research US Retail Sales, by Sector: Latest 13 Months (YoY % Change) wdt_ID Sector 19-May Jun 19 Jul 19 Aug 19 Sep 19 Oct 19 Nov 19 Dec 19 Jan 20 Feb 20 Mar 20 Apr 20 May 20 Jun 20 Jul 20 Aug 20 Sep 20 Oct 20 Nov 20 Dec 20 Jan 21 1 Total retail sales (excl. automobiles and gasoline) 3.2 2.6 5.6 4.6 4.00 4.40 1.30 6.50 3.6 7.7 6.4 -5.2 1.5 10.3 10.0 6.9 13.3 10.6 8.2 7.9 10.8 2 Food and beverage retailers 2.5 2.1 4.1 4.5 1.40 3.10 3.70 2.20 2.0 8.2 26.9 13.5 14.5 11.0 12.7 7.9 11.5 10.9 8.4 10.6 11.6 3 - Grocery retailers 2.5 2.4 4.2 4.5 1.50 3.30 4.00 2.30 2.0 8.2 28.5 14.3 14.1 10.2 12.1 7.2 10.4 9.9 8.0 10.2 11.3 4 General merchandise retailers 0.7 1.2 2.0 2.4 -0.70 1.50 -0.30 -0.30 2.6 6.5 7.4 -4.7 1.6 1.9 4.6 1.1 6.3 6.7 0.6 -1.2 7.8 5 - Department store retailers -5.7 -4.5 -2.9 -4.1 -5.70 -4.80 -7.90 -3.50 -2.1 0.0 -26.1 -44.5 -26.1 -17.7 -12.8 -16.7 -8.9 -10.5 -19.7 -22.5 -1.7 6 Clothing, footwear and accessories retailers -2.9 -1.8 -0.5 2.3 -2.50 -0.70 -2.80 1.20 2.5 4.9 -50.7 -86.4 -61.9 -25.4 -21.6 -23.6 -7.4 -9.4 -18.9 -11.8 -11.3 7 Home-improvement and gardening retailers -3.0 -5.1 0.8 0.2 1.50 -0.10 -0.90 3.50 1.1 9.1 7.1 4.7 12.8 24.8 16.6 13.0 23.0 15.0 16.2 20.4 13.7 8 Health and personal care retailers 3.8 2.0 4.5 0.7 3.70 2.50 -1.40 4.30 1.4 3.3 6.8 -10.0 -10.0 2.6 4.3 1.5 7.7 2.6 3.4 6.6 3.3 9 Furniture and home-furnishing retailers 1.2 -2.2 2.1 1.3 2.80 2.40 1.90 0.70 7.0 8.8 -20.0 -58.7 -29.1 1.7 3.7 2.0 7.8 6.7 -0.6 5.7 9.3 10 Electronics and appliance retailers -3.5 -6.0 -2.0 -3.6 -1.30 -2.40 -3.00 -0.60 0.9 3.4 -18.3 -53.2 -43.0 -19.1 -4.7 -5.8 -6.2 -4.0 -10.6 -14.6 -4.1 Data are not seasonally adjusted. Grocery retailers are a subset of food and beverage retailers. Department store retailers are a subset of general merchandise retailers Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research US Retail Sales (Annual) In 2020, total US retail sales grew 6.8% to $3,966.5 billion. This measure of retail sales excludes sales by food-service businesses, gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Breakdown of Retail Sales By Sector In 2020, nonstore retailers constituted 24.4% of total retail sales, while food and beverage retailers accounted for 21.5%. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Food and Beverage Retailers In 2020, food and beverage retailers’ sales grew 11.5% to $853.3 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Grocery Retailers In 2020, grocery retailers’ sales grew 11.3% to $759.7 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research General Merchandise Retailers In 2020, general merchandise retailers’ sales grew 2.6% to $732.2 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Department Store Retailers In 2020, department store retailers’ sales declined by 18.1% to $110.5 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Clothing, Footwear and Accessories Retailers In 2020, clothing, footwear and accessories retailers’ sales fell by 26.5% to $196.1 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Home-Improvement and Gardening Retailers In 2020, home-improvement and gardening retailers’ sales grew 13.8% to $437.8 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Health and Personal Care Retailers In 2020, health and personal care retailers’ sales grew 1.7% to $364.7 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Furniture and Home-Furnishing Retailers In 2020, furniture and home-furnishing retailers’ sales fell by 5.3% to $111.5 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Electronics and Appliance Retailers In 2020, electronics and appliance retailers’ sales fell by 14.3% to $83.2 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument and Book Retailers In 2020, sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book retailers’ sales rose by 5.5% to $84.3 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Miscellaneous Retailers In 2020, miscellaneous retailers’ sales fell by 0.7% to $133.6 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Nonstore Retailers In 2020, nonstore retailers’ sales grew 21.9% to $969.4 billion. Source: US Census Bureau/Coresight Research Below, we provide the Census Bureau’s descriptions of the retail sectors that we cover, in brief. Furniture and home-furnishing retailers: Retailers that sell furniture, home furnishings, floor coverings and major home appliances and electronics. Some may offer interior decorating services along with the sale of products. Electronics and appliance retailers: Retailers that sell household and consumer electronics, such as household appliances, home entertainment systems, computers, computer peripherals, mobile phones, gaming consoles and others. Home-improvement and gardening retailers: Retailers that sell home-improvement and garden equipment and supplies. Food and beverage retailers: Retailers that sell fresh and processed food, such as supermarkets, convenience stores, specialty food stores, markets (for meat, fish, fruit and vegetables), baked goods stores, confectionery stores and liquor stores. Grocery retailers: A subsector of food and beverage retailers that includes supermarkets and convenience stores, which retail general lines of food. Health and personal care retailers: Retailers that primarily sell personal care products, beauty products, medicines, supplements and optical goods. Drugstore retailers and pharmacies, beauty shops and perfume retailers are part of this sector. Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book retailers: Retailers that sell sporting equipment (including fitness equipment, camping gear, bicycles, athletic uniforms and specialty sports footwear), toys, games, musical instruments, hobby and craft supplies, and books. Clothing, footwear and accessories retailers: Retailers that sell women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, accessories (such as hats, gloves, handbags, ties and belts), footwear, jewelry, and luggage and leather goods. General merchandise retailers: Retailers that sell many lines of products. Department stores, discount department stores, warehouse clubs, supercenters and variety stores fall within this sector. Department stores: A subsector of general merchandise retailers. Retailers within this group sell a wide range of products, including apparel, footwear, appliances, home furnishings, jewelry, toys and beauty products. Miscellaneous retailers: Retailers include florists; office supplies and stationery retailers; gift and novelty retailers; used-merchandise retailers; pet and pet supplies retailers; art dealers; mobile home dealers; and tobacco retailers. Nonstore retailers: Retailers include electronic shopping and mail order houses, vending-machine operators, direct-selling businesses and fuel dealers, among other direct-selling businesses such as in-home retailers and those that sell from a truck or wagon. This sector also includes online sales from some store-based retailers that separate this business from their store-based operations. This report is for Premium subscribers only. Learn more about subscriptions here.
