EconoIndicators

Monthly Sales At a Glance

• Total Retail and Food Service Sales: $363.7 billion
• Monthly Change: Down 2.8%
• Annual Change: Down 4.1%
• Retail Sales: Down 3.1% for month, 5% year-to-year

Technorati Tags: retail, sales

ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL TRADE AND FOOD SERVICES
OCTOBER 2008
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for October, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $363.7 billion, a decrease of 2.8 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 4.1 percent (±0.7%) below October 2007. Total sales for the August through October 2008 period were down 1.3 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. The August to September 2008 percent change was revised from –1.2 percent (±0.5%) to –1.3 percent (±0.3%).
Retail trade sales were down 3.1 percent (±0.5%) from September 2008 and were 5.0 percent (±0.7%) below last year. Motor vehicle and parts dealers sales were down 23.4 percent (±2.1%) from October 2007 and sales of furniture and home furnishings stores sales were down 13.5 percent (±3.3 %) from last year.

Retail Sales – October 2008 [PDF]

Source: Commerce Department, Census Bureau