Category Archives: Retail Outlets

Co-ops

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Interest in cooperatives is on the rise as people look to community-rooted alternatives to the dominance of huge, global banks, enormous retailing giants with little link to the local community, and empty main street store fronts. Cooperatives, or co-ops, are nonprofit businesses of various types such as credit unions and stores. These co-ops are created when members pool money in order to set up, manage and run the organizations on behalf of their members. Today’s market size is the estimated number of such cooperatives in the United States and the estimated value of the revenue they generate annually as of 2010.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: Forecast for 2010
Market size: 29,000 Co-ops generating $654 billion in revenues
Source: Amy Cortese, “Buying Underwear, Along With the Whole Store,” The New York Times, November 13, 2011, page B1, available online here.
Original source: University of Wisconsin
Posted on November 14, 2011

Floor Covering Stores

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Today’s market size is based on sales through retail outlets dedicated to floor coverings, from carpets to tile, wood to laminates. Two years of estimated sales by these retail outlets in the United States are provided. Leading retailers in this category include ABC Carpet and Home, Empire Home Services, Floor and Decor, Lumber Liquidators, and Seagull Enterprises.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1998 and 2009
Market size: $17,013 million and $15,734 million respectively
Source: “Estimated Annual Sales of U.S. Retail and Food Service Firms by Kind of Business: 1998 Through 2009,” Annual Retail Trade Survey—2009, available in a PDF format here. For links to these data as well as earlier U.S. Annual Trade Survey data, check this Census Bureau site.
Original source: U.S. Bureau of the Census
Posted on October 21, 2011

Clothes Stores

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The sale of clothes through clothing stores is tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau by type of store: men’s clothing, women’s clothing and family clothing. In the year 2000 men’s clothing stores accounted for 9% of the category and fell to 6% by 2009. Women’s clothing stores also saw its share decline as a percent of the category from 29% in 2000 to 26% in 2009. More of us are buying our clothes at general merchandising stores and clothes stores that sell a fuller line of apparel, family clothing stores.

Today’s market size is the estimated total of sales by clothing stores in the United States in 2000 and 2009. These sales totals do not include retailers categorized under the heading general merchandisers, including department stores and warehouse clubs.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2000 and 2009
Market size: $118.2 billion and $152.3 billion respectively
Source: “Estimated Annual Sales of U.S. Retail and Food Service Firms by Kind of Business: 1998 Through 2009,” Annual Retail Trade Survey—2009, available in a PDF format here. For links to these data as well as earlier U.S. Annual Trade Survey data, check this Census Bureau site.
Original source: U.S. Bureau of the Census
Posted on October 13, 2011

Grocery Stores

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Groceries

Food is something necessary to life and so it may seem, to those not in the business, that grocery stores would be immune to recessions. For the most part, U.S. grocery stores as an industry have weathered the two recessions of the decade 2000–2009 far better than other industries. But, as can be seen in the graph, even grocery stores saw sales slow during the recessions.

Today’s market size is the estimated total of sales by grocery stores and supermarkets in the United States in 2000 and 2009. These sales totals do not include the sales made through convenience stores.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2000 and 2009
Market size: $381.72 billion and $487.41 billion respectively
Source: “Estimated Annual Sales of U.S. Retail and Food Service Firms by Kind of Business: 1998 Through 2009,” Annual Retail Trade Survey—2009, available in a PDF format here. For links to these data as well as earlier U.S. Annual Trade Survey data, check this Census Bureau site.
Original source: U.S. Bureau of the Census
Posted on October 12, 2011

Retail Shrinkage

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Retail shrinkage is the loss suffered by retailers as a result of shoplifting by customers and/or employees, supplier fraud and inventory miscounts. Those in the field of security work may see the size of retail shrinkage as a sort of market size, the maximum amount that could be saved for a retailer if deterrent measures were taken to eliminate all such losses.

Today’s market size is the estimated value of all retail shrinkage in the United States in 2010.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: $37.1 billion
Source: Andrew Allentuck, “Security Cameras, Detection is Also Deterrence,” The Costco Connection, September 2011, page 21.
Original source: National Association for Shoplifting Prevention
Posted on September 8, 2011

Farmers Markets

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Our selection of a market for today’s post was made to honor National Farmers Market Week.

Over the past 40 years, farmers markets have grown in popularity. As people become more health conscious and demand locally- and organically-grown foods, more and more cities and towns host farmers markets in the summertime. In 2010, there were also nearly 900 farmers markets operating in the wintertime (November through March). According to a new report by an agricultural economist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, increasing the number of farmers markets could create tens of thousands of jobs in economically struggling rural and urban areas.

To promote farmers markets, the U.S. Department of Agriculture instituted National Farmers Market Week in 2000. In 2011, National Farmers Market Week is August 7-13. Data show the number of farmers markets nationwide in 1970 and 2011.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1970 and 2011
Market size: 340 and more than 7,000 respectively
Source: “Farmers Markets Boost Local Economies,” WLNS.com, August 4, 2011, available online here; Sam Jones-Ellard, “USDA Highlights Nearly 900 Operating Winter Markets; Many Markets Located in Cold-Weather States,” Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, December 8, 2010, available online here.

Extended Warranties

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An extended warranty is something offered to consumers by retailers either as a service the retailer offers or on behalf of the manufacturer. These extended warranties vary greatly in terms of what they cover and duration. Today’s market size is an estimate of the number of such warranties sold annually in the United States.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: 250 million warranties annually
Source: Newman, Andrew Adams,”Old-Time Torture Tests Resurface on YouTube, and Tablets Take a Licking,” The New York Times, page B6, June 10, 2011, available online here.

Folding Furniture

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Today’s market size is the value of retail sales of folding furnture—tables and chairs— in the United States in 2009. Leading manufacturers of this sort of furniture include Cosco and Lifetime.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009
Market size: $395 million
Source: Dorel Investor Day, June 2, 1010, page 49, available online here.
Original source: Dorel Asia

Houseware Sales

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Housewares is a category of products covering a large range of different sorts of items. Here is a list: floor care products; metal cookware; kitchen tools & gadgets; plastic storage; air treatment products; blenders & food processors; cutlery; metal bakeware, and toasters. Today’s market size is an estimate of the total retail sales value of all items in this category during 2010. It shows a 2% increase over retail sales in 2009.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: $52.2 billion
Source: “It’s Alive! Home Furnishings Sales—Put on Life Support Last Year—Show Signs of Life,” HFN Home Furnishings News, February 2011, page 16.
Original source: McFadden Communications Group LLC

Online Sale of Books & Magazines

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One of the industries being most buffeted by the transition to e-commerce is publishing. For decades book publishers have used a network of book retailers as their primary means of getting books to the general public. With the advent of e-commerce this began to change. One can see clearly the speed with which this shift has altered the bookselling landscape. Amazon was started in 1994 and by 2010 it became the largest retailer of books in the United States. The previous book retailing leaders, Barnes & Noble and Borders (which entered bankruptcy reorganization this month) have scrambled to adjust to the new world of selling books while independent booksellers continue to hang on for dear life, declining in number every year as they have since the 1980s with the rise of Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Further complicating this dynamic shifting within the book world is the fact that books and magazines themselves are reasonably easily digitized. This means that the Internet provided a means not only to place orders for books and magazines but to instantly receive them in a digital format. While the shift to e-books is still young—representing less than 9% of the trade book market in 2010—it is a vibrant part of the publishing business and is coloring many of the actions taken by publishers and booksellers alike as they try and adapt to the new realities of the retail landscape for books, magazines, and all printed material.

For anyone interested in more statistics on this subject, we studied it closely last year and have a series of posts on the subject at another of our sites, the Dwarf Planet Press blog site, available here.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $2.06 and $5.14 billion respectively, an increase of 149%.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Online Sale of Computers—Hardware & Software

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Selling computers and software online seems pretty natural, after all, the buyer is using a computer to make the purchase. This may explain why the growth rate of online sales of this line of merchandise was not quite as robust between 2003 and 2008 as the growth rate for other lines of merchandise—clothes, sporting goods, food, beer and wine, and appliances to name a few lines, each with an online sales growth rate over 200%. Selling computers online has been underway since the 1990s whereas online sales of other lines of merchandise have only moved onto the Internet in a big way since the early 2000s.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $7.8 and $14.3 billion respectively, an increase of 84%.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

By the way, for anyone not familiar with the Statistical Abstract of the United States, a wonderful compilation of a huge variety of important measures of the United States, learn about it here. It is a great place to start with any investigations about the U.S. economy, business climate, people, government, and many more things yet.

Online Sale of Clothes and Shoes

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The market size presented here is the total value of clothing and shoes that were sold electronically in 2003 and 2008. It is interesting to see that online sales of clothes and shoes have grown briskly over this five-year period since it was believed that such merchandise would be harder to sell online than other things, things that people would not wish to try on before purchasing. Four Census Bureau product codes are included in this market size calculation, they are 20200 (Men’s wear); 20220 (Women’s wear); 20240 (Children’s clothes), and 20260 (Footwear).

Geographic reference: United States (based on the location of the selling entity)
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $5.13 and $17.06 billion respectively, representing a 233% increase.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Online Sale of Furniture

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Today we will present the first in a series of market sizes based on the online sale of a particular line of merchandise. The online sale of furniture is our market for today.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $3.1 and $9.8 billion respectively, representing a 217% increase over five years.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

E-Commerce

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The title of this post is a bit… well, optimistic. You see, it’s hard to get an accurate read on the size of the e-commerce market. Part of the problem is defining the term. It is a large, nebulous thing, this e-commerce market. It is a growing market that covers a large range of products and its participants vary greatly. Some are “bricks and mortar” stores that also sell online. Others are entities that do business through the Internet exclusively. And the systems needed to track all of this are only being created and fine tuned so it is early days for getting a clear picture of what is actually going on. But, there is plenty going on, that much we do know. What we present here are the data that the Census Bureau has tracked under the industry title “Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses,” [NAICS 45-411].

As we have time, we will try and present a few more detailed slices of this industry and clarify exactly what it does and does not include.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 10,013 and 21,795 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $69.03 and $215.96 billion respectively. Please note, these figures include e-commerce sales as well as mail-order house sales.
Market size: Employment: 218,406 and 342,138 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Florists

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Florists are another retailing segment that has suffered declines as a result of sales transactions of its primary product moving onto the Internet. Florists still handle many things that are not as easily done online. They likely still handle the bulk of large orders and of event related floral needs. But, the decline in their establishment counts, sales and employment do suggest that part of their traditional business has gone elsewhere.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 26,200 and 19,609 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $6.55 and $6.28 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 125,195 and 93,683 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Music Stores

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To be precise, the figures below are for the industry designated by the Census Bureau as Prerecorded Tape, Compact Disc and Record Stores [NAICS 45-1220]. Now, the very name of this industry will likely explain why it has seen such precipitous declines over the last decade… since music is now so often purchased online and downloaded as an electronic file. It also serves as an extreme example of a retailing segment that is having to grapple with a major shift in how business is done.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 8,158 and 4,102 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $7.37 and $3.51 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 66,623 and 28,685 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Department Stores

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Department stores appear to be losing ground to newer sorts of retailers. These newer retailers include those referred to as warehouse stores, those called discounters and those focused on a smaller range of particular products, apparel, shoes and accessories only, for example. Whatever the cause, department stores as a group have been in decline for some time now which can be seen clearly in the figures below. While the retail sector as a whole did well during the decade from 1997 to 2007, some segments have been under pressure due to the changes in the way we get things.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 10,366 and 8,553 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $220.12 and $210.14 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 1,795,577 and 1,229,489 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Warehouse Clubs and Superstores

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The rise of what is often called “Big Box” stores is something that has clearly altered the retail landscape significantly. The figures presented here show this transition from 1997 to 2007, although it is worth noting that not all “Big Box” stores are warehouse clubs or superstores. The term “Big Box” includes many home improvement centers and other categories of retailer. The figures correspond to the industry designated by the Census Bureau’s North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code as 45-2910 and carrying the same title as this post.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 1,530 and 4,259 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $81.92 and $324.96 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 428,357 and 1,244,250 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Retail Trade

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This week we’ll take a look at how some sectors within the overall retail trade industry are faring during an era of structural change going on in our system for getting products from maker to end user. Our online purchases are rising quickly while restructuring within the distribution channel has caused some wholesale industries to be absorbed by the ends of the chain, manufacturers or retailers. To start off, a look at the Retail Trade Industry as a whole. Please note, these figures do not reflect the downturn suffered as a result of the recession which began, officially, in December 2007.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 1,118,447 and 1,122,703 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $2.46 and $3.93 trillion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 13.9 and 15.6 million respectively.
Source: “Sector 00: EC0700CADV2: All Sectors: Core Business Statistics Series: Advanced Compariative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Furniture Stores

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The furniture industry is one that has been experiencing a significant shift in how it gets product to market. Wholesaling is declining as a segment of the overall distribution of furniture in the United States. Retailers have also declined slightly in numbers but their sales have risen as has the number of people employed by furniture stores. This shows that there has been some consolidation of furniture stores. Worth noting is the fact that furniture sales benefitted from the housing boom, which ended in December 2007 when the recession began. Effects of the recession are not visible in these data. The market size data presented here is for all furniture retailers which are covered as a group in the U.S. Census Bureau designated industry, NAICS 442 [Furniture and Home Furnishing Stores].

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 64,725 and 64,590 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $71.7 and $107.8 billion respectively.
Source: “Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the U.S. (2002 NAICS): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.