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Percent Change in Retail and Food Services Sales from 

Previous Month

Data adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences but not for 

price changes. 

FOR RELEASE AT 8:30 AM EDT, THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2024 

ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES FOR RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICES, FEBRUARY 2024 

Release Number: CB24-40 

Intention to Revise: Monthly retail sales estimates will be revised based on the results of the 2022 Annual 

Retail Trade Survey and the Service Annual Survey. Revised not adjusted estimates and corresponding 

adjusted estimates are scheduled for release on April 23, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

March 14, 2024 — The U.S. Census Bureau announced the following advance estimates of U.S. retail and 

food services sales for February 2024:

Advance Estimates of U.S. Retail and Food Services 

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February 2024, adjusted for seasonal variation 

and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $700.7 billion, up 0.6 percent 

(±0.5 percent) from the previous month, and up 1.5 percent (±0.7 percent) above February 2023. Total 

sales for the December 2023 through February 2024 period were up 2.1 percent (±0.5 percent) from the 

same period a year ago. The December 2023 to January 2024 percent change was revised from down 0.8 

percent (±0.5 percent) to down 1.1 percent (±0.4 percent). 

Retail trade sales were up 0.6 percent (±0.5 percent) from January 2024, and up 0.8 percent (±0.5 percent) 

above last year. Nonstore retailers were up 6.4 percent (±1.6 percent) from last year, while food services 

and drinking places were up 6.3 percent (±2.1 percent) from February 2023. 

General Information

The March 2024 Advance Monthly Retail report is scheduled for release on April 15, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. EDT. 

ADVANCE MONTHLY SALES 

February 2024 $700.7 billion +0.6% 

January 2024 

(revised) $696.7 billion -1.1% 

Next release: April 15, 2024 

* The 90 percent confidence interval includes zero. There is insufficient statistical 

evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero. 

Data adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences but 

not for price changes. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Advanced Monthly Retail 

Trade Survey, March 14, 2024

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

December January February

Total Ex Auto Auto Gen Mer

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Advanced Monthly Retail Trade Survey, 

March 14, 2024
 

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View the full schedule in the Economic Briefing Room: <https://www.census.gov/economic-indicators/>. 

The full text and tables of this release can be found at <www.census.gov/retail/>. 

EXPLANATORY NOTES 

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 4,800 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. For more information on how data is collected for the 

Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, see our methodology page at: 

<https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/how_surveys_are_collected.html>. 

Survey Description 

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Advance Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services Survey to provide 

an early estimate of monthly sales by kind of business for retail and food service firms located in the 

United States. Each month, questionnaires are mailed to a probability sample of approximately 4,800 

employer firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey. Advance sales estimates are 

computed using a link relative estimator. For each detailed industry, we compute a ratio of current-toprevious month weighted sales using data from units for which we have obtained usable responses for 

both the current and previous month. For each detailed industry, the advance total sales estimates for the 

current month is computed by multiplying this ratio by the preliminary sales estimate for the previous 

month (derived from the larger MRTS) at the appropriate industry level. Total estimates for broader 

industries are computed as the sum of the detailed industry estimates. The link relative estimate is used 

because imputation is not performed for most nonrespondents in MARTS. For a limited number of 

nonresponding companies that have influential effects on the estimates, sales may be estimated based on 

historical performance of that company. The monthly estimates are benchmarked to the annual survey 

estimates from the Annual Retail Trade Survey once available. The estimates are adjusted for seasonal 

variation and holiday and trading day differences. Additional information on MARTS and MRTS can be 

found on the Census Bureau website at: <www.census.gov/retail>. 

The Census Bureau has reviewed this data product to ensure appropriate access, use, and disclosure 

avoidance protection of the confidential source data (Project No. P-7504206, Disclosure Review Board 

(DRB) approval number: CBDRB-FY24-0003). 

Reliability of Estimates

Because the estimates presented in this report are based on a sample survey, they contain sampling error 

and nonsampling error. 
 

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Sampling error is the difference between the estimate and the result that would be obtained from a 

complete enumeration of the sampling frame conducted under the same survey conditions. This error 

occurs because only a subset of the entire sampling frame is measured in a sample survey. Standard errors 

and coefficients of variation (CV), as given in Table 3 of this report, are estimated measures of sampling 

variation. 

The margin of sampling error, as used on page 1, gives a range about the estimate which is a 90 percent 

confidence interval. If, for example, the percent change estimate is +1.2 percent and its estimated 

standard error is 0.9 percent, then the margin of sampling error is ±1.753 x 0.9 percent or ±1.6 percent, 

and the 90 percent confidence interval is –0.4 percent to +2.8 percent. If the interval contains 0, then one 

does not have sufficient evidence to conclude at the 90 percent confidence level that the change is 

different from zero and therefore the change is not statistically significant. Estimated changes shown in 

the text are statistically significant unless otherwise noted. For a monthly total, the median estimated 

coefficient of variation is given. The resulting confidence interval is the estimated value ±1.753 x CV x (the 

estimated monthly total). The Census Bureau recommends that individuals using estimates in this report 

incorporate this information into their analyses, as sampling error could affect the conclusions drawn from 

the estimates. 

Nonsampling error encompasses all other factors that contribute to the total error of a sample survey 

estimate. This type of error can occur because of nonresponse, insufficient coverage of the universe of 

retail businesses, mistakes in the recording and coding of data, and other errors of collection, response, 

coverage, or processing. Although nonsampling error is not measured directly, the Census Bureau employs 

quality control procedures throughout the process to minimize this type of error. 

Weather Information 

For information on the impact of weather events on the compilation of this report, please see the 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on our website at: 

<www.census.gov/retail/marts_weather_faqs.html> 

RESOURCES 

The Rest of the Consumer Spending Story 

Retail and services together represent what’s commonly referred to as consumer spending. Quarterly 

Services Survey (QSS) revenue comprises roughly 2/3 of the personal consumption expenditures 

component of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). 

The fourth quarter 2023 Quarterly Services Report was released on February 20, 2024 at 10:00 AM. Learn 
 

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about historical revenue trends for certain industries going back 15 years and other data, such as inpatient days and discharges for hospitals, by visiting <https://www.census.gov/services/index.html> 

API 

The Census Bureau’s application programming interface lets developers create custom apps to reach new 

users and makes key demographic, socio-economic and housing statistics more accessible than ever 

before. <www.census.gov/developers/>

FRED Mobile App 

Receive the latest updates on the nation’s key economic indicators by downloading 

the FRED App <https://fred.stlouisfed.org/fred-mobile/> for both Apple and 

Android devices. FRED, the signature database of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. 

Louis, now incorporates the Census Bureau’s 13 economic indicators. 

### 

* The 90 percent confidence interval includes zero. There is insufficient statistical evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero. 
Table 1. Estimated Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, by Kind of Business

(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.)

NAICS1

code % Chg. Feb.3Jan. Dec. Feb. Jan. Feb.3Jan. Dec. Feb. Jan.

2024 2023 (a) (p) (r) (a) (p) (r) (r) (r)

Retail & food services, 

 total ...........................................................1,281,200 3.4 643,391 637,809 767,712 609,578 629,035 700,727 696,710 704,107 690,375 696,426

 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts) ... 1,036,704 3.5 517,649 519,055 636,750 490,443 511,052 566,790 564,878 569,500 558,249 561,715

 Total (excl. gasoline stations) ............................... 1,187,520 4.1 596,341 591,179 718,729 561,973 578,703 647,683 644,140 650,807 634,827 639,682

 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts &

 gasoline stations) ............................ 943,024 4.4 470,599 472,425 587,767 442,838 460,720 513,746 512,308 516,200 502,701 504,971

 Retail .................................................. 1,108,875 3.0 555,127 553,748 671,582 529,374 547,156 607,425 603,825 610,322 602,624 606,350

GAFO4

.....................................................................................

(*) (*) (*) 110,674 168,994 110,441 112,264 (*) 129,192 129,169 129,967 131,490

441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers ..................244,496 3.1 125,742 118,754 130,962 119,135 117,983 133,937 131,832 134,607 132,126 134,711

4411, 4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers . 223,309 2.7 115,261 108,048 120,340 109,406 108,108 122,618 120,455 123,173 121,158 123,977

44111 New car dealers .............................. (*) (*) (*) 90,601 102,771 87,828 89,104 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

4413 Auto parts, acc. & tire stores................. (*) (*) (*) 10,706 10,622 9,729 9,875 (*) 11,377 11,434 10,968 10,734

442 Furniture & home furn. stores ............................ 19,557 -9.2 9,904 9,653 11,340 10,567 10,965 10,593 10,714 10,688 11,780 12,432

4421 Furniture stores ............................................. (*) (*) (*) 5,587 6,237 5,987 6,168 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

4422 Home furnishings stores ...................... (*) (*) (*) (S) (S) (S) (S) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

443 Electronics & appliance stores ................. 14,437 3.3 7,206 7,231 10,071 6,756 7,225 7,773 7,660 7,454 7,625 7,727

444 Building material & garden eq. &

 supplies dealers............................................... 66,820 -4.2 33,868 32,952 36,876 34,324 35,432 40,417 39,536 41,320 43,042 43,313

4441 Building mat. & sup. dealers ................. (*) (*) (*) 28,624 31,775 29,628 30,810 (*) 33,915 35,582 36,943 37,255

445 Food & beverage stores........................... 158,112 2.8 77,493 80,619 89,906 74,421 79,445 82,579 82,484 82,765 82,243 81,754

4451 Grocery stores ............................................. 143,548 2.7 70,009 73,539 78,563 67,365 72,370 74,084 74,132 74,186 73,946 73,323

4453 Beer, wine & liquor stores .................... (*) (*) (*) 5,009 8,021 5,071 5,093 (*) 5,935 6,142 5,959 6,107

446 Health & personal care stores .................. 70,532 5.7 34,343 36,189 40,526 32,496 34,230 35,999 36,117 36,642 35,399 34,716

44611 Pharmacies & drug stores .................... (*) (*) (*) 30,731 32,616 26,870 28,685 (*) 30,217 30,597 29,175 28,685

447 Gasoline stations .............................................. 93,680 -4.3 47,050 46,630 48,983 47,605 50,332 53,044 52,570 53,300 55,548 56,744

448 Clothing & clothing accessories

 stores ............................................................. 41,329 2.4 21,909 19,420 41,187 20,937 19,405 26,289 26,413 26,625 25,949 26,534

44811 Men's clothing stores .......................... (*) (*) (*) (S) (S) (S) (S) (*) (S) (S) (S) (S)

44812 Women's clothing stores ...................... (*) (*) (*) 2,423 4,684 2,735 2,514 (*) 3,324 3,416 3,398 3,468

44814 Family clothing stores .......................... (*) (*) (*) 8,038 16,823 7,999 7,786 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

4482 Shoe stores ................................................. (*) (*) (*) 2,176 4,544 2,618 2,299 (*) 3,224 3,278 3,256 3,406

451 Sporting goods, hobby, musical

 instrument, & book stores .......................... 13,908 -1.0 6,794 7,114 11,995 6,796 7,257 8,461 8,459 8,489 8,724 8,764

452 General merchandise stores................................ 131,686 2.4 66,349 65,337 91,556 63,367 65,276 73,785 73,513 73,548 73,239 73,340

4521 Department stores .................................18,364 -2.1 9,491 8,873 16,631 9,466 9,296 11,064 11,081 10,974 11,579 11,785

4529 Other general merch. stores.... ............. (*) (*) (*) 56,464 74,925 53,901 55,980 (*) 62,432 62,574 61,660 61,555

45291 Warehouse clubs & 

 supercenters............................................(*) (*) (*) 48,468 63,700 46,467 48,504 (*) 53,262 53,529 52,924 52,952

45299 All oth. gen. merch. stores................. (*) (*) (*) 7,996 11,225 7,434 7,476 (*) 9,170 9,045 8,736 8,603

453 Miscellaneous store retailers ................... 27,691 4.1 13,981 13,710 16,123 13,103 13,500 15,783 15,690 15,662 15,294 15,649

454 Nonstore retailers ............................................. 226,627 10.0 110,488 116,139 142,057 99,867 106,106 118,765 118,837 119,222 111,655 110,666

4541 Elect. shopping & m/o houses ............... (*) (*) (*) 105,010 131,803 89,207 94,787 (*) 109,158 109,653 101,372 100,516

722 Food services & drinking places ........... 172,325 6.3 88,264 84,061 96,130 80,204 81,879 93,302 92,885 93,785 87,751 90,076

 (*) Advance estimates are not available for this kind of business.

 (S) Estimate does not meet publication standards because of high sampling variability (coefficient of variation is greater than 30%), poor response quality 

 (total quantity response rate is less than 50%), or other concerns about the estimate's quality.

 (1) For a full description of the NAICS codes used in this table, see <https://www.census.gov/naics/>.

 (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-13ARIMA-SEATS 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/retail>.

 (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 & accessories (448), sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book (451), general merchandise (452), office supply, stationery, and gift stores (4532).

 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, March 14, 2024. Table 3 provides estimated measures of sampling variability. Additional information on 

 confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, sample design, and definitions may be found at

 <www.census.gov/retail/how_surveys_are_collected.html>.

2024 2023

 (NA) Not available (a) Advance estimate (p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate

Kind of Business

Not Adjusted

2 Month Total

Adjusted2

2024 2023
Table 2. Estimated Change in Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, by Kind of Business

 and administrative records.)

Dec. 2023

Feb. 2024 Advance Jan. 2024 Preliminary through

NAICS from -- from -- Feb. 2024 from --

code Sep. 2023 Dec. 2022

Jan. 2024 Feb. 2023 Dec. 2023 Jan. 2023 through through

(p) (r) (r) (r) Nov. 2023 Feb. 2023

Retail & food services, 

 total .................................................................. 0.6 1.5 -1.1 0.0 -0.5 2.1

 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts) ..... 0.3 1.5 -0.8 0.6 -0.4 2.0

 Total (excl. gasoline stations) ...............................0.6 2.0 -1.0 0.7 -0.2 2.9

 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts &

 gasoline stations) .......................................... 0.3 2.2 -0.8 1.5 0.0 2.9

 Retail ...................................................... 0.6 0.8 -1.1 -0.4 -0.6 1.5

441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers ....................... 1.6 1.4 -2.1 -2.1 -0.8 2.7

4411, 4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers ... 1.8 1.2 -2.2 -2.8 -0.8 2.4

442 Furniture & home furn. stores ....................... -1.1 -10.1 0.2 -13.8 -1.4 -10.2

443 Electronics & appliance stores ..................... 1.5 1.9 2.8 -0.9 -0.8 2.1

444 Building material & garden eq. &

 supplies dealers......................................... 2.2 -6.1 -4.3 -8.7 -2.2 -5.9

445 Food & beverage stores................................ 0.1 0.4 -0.3 0.9 -0.2 0.7

4451 Grocery stores ....................................... -0.1 0.2 -0.1 1.1 -0.2 0.5

446 Health & personal care stores ....................... -0.3 1.7 -1.4 4.0 -2.7 5.3

447 Gasoline stations ........................................ 0.9 -4.5 -1.4 -7.4 -4.4 -6.0

448 Clothing & clothing accessories

 stores ....................................................................-0.5 1.3 -0.8 -0.5 1.4 1.9

451 Sporting goods, hobby, musical

 instrument, & book stores ............................. 0.0 -3.0 -0.4 -3.5 -0.9 -3.0

452 General merchandise stores.......................... 0.4 0.7 0.0 0.2 0.7 1.2

4521 Department stores ............................ -0.2 -4.4 1.0 -6.0 2.2 -4.3

453 Miscellaneous store retailers ........................ 0.6 3.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 3.0

454 Nonstore retailers ....................................... -0.1 6.4 -0.3 7.4 1.2 7.7

722 Food services & drinking places .............. 0.4 6.3 -1.0 3.1 0.0 6.6

(p) Preliminary estimate (r) Revised estimate

(1) Estimates shown in this table are derived from adjusted estimates provided in Table 1 of this report.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, March 14, 2024. Table 3 provides estimated measures of sampling variability. 

 Additional information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, sample design, and definitions may be found at 

 <www.census.gov/retail/how_surveys_are_collected.html>.

Kind of Business

Percent Change1

(Estimates are shown as percents and are based on data from the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, Monthly Retail Trade Survey,
Table 3. Estimated Measures of Sampling Variability and Revision to Advance Estimates Feb. 2024

Median

NAICS Code Kind of Business CV (1) for Previous Mo. Previous Qtr. Current Mo. Median

Current Mo. to to to same Average absolute

(%) Current Mo. Current Qtr. Mo. Last Yr. revision revision

Retail & food services, 

 total ................................................................. 0.9 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.0 0.2

 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts) ........... 1.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.1

 Total (excl. gasoline stations) ...............................0.9 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.0 0.1

 Total (excl. motor vehicle & parts &

 gasoline stations) .................................... 1.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.0 0.1

 Retail, total .................................................... 0.8 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.1

441 Motor vehicle & parts dealers ................... 1.6 0.8 0.4 1.0 0.0 0.1

4411, 4412 Auto & other motor veh. dealers ............ 1.7 0.8 0.4 1.2 0.0 0.1

442 Furniture & home furn. stores................... 3.0 1.8 0.8 1.7 -0.2 0.6

443 Electronics & appliance stores ................................ 2.2 0.9 0.5 1.1 0.5 0.6

444 Building material & garden eq. &

 supplies dealers................................................ 2.7 0.8 0.5 1.1 -0.2 0.3

445 Food & beverage stores..................................... 0.7 0.2 0.2 0.4 -0.1 0.2

4451 Grocery stores ..................................... 0.7 0.2 0.2 0.5 -0.1 0.3

446 Health & personal care stores .................. 3.2 0.5 0.3 0.7 -0.1 0.3

447 Gasoline stations ............................................. 1.4 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.5

448 Clothing & clothing accessories

 stores ............................................................ 3.0 1.0 0.6 1.3 -0.1 0.2

451 Sporting goods, hobby, musical

 instrument, & book stores ........................ 2.4 1.2 0.9 1.4 0.2 0.4

452 General merchandise stores..................... 1.6 0.1 0.1 0.3 -0.1 0.1

4521 Department stores ................................. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1

453 Miscellaneous store retailers ...................... 5.2 2.4 1.3 2.5 0.3 1.1

454 Nonstore retailers ......................................... 2.0 0.6 0.4 0.9 0.0 0.4

722 Food services & drinking places .................. 3.5 0.9 0.7 1.2 0.0 0.3

(1) Estimated measures of sampling variability are based on estimates not adjusted for seasonal variation or holiday or trading day variation. Medians are based 

 on estimates for the most recent 12 months. 

(2) These columns provide measures of the difference between the advance-to-preliminary and preliminary-to-final estimates of month-to-month change for the

 same pair of months as measured by the Advance sample and MRTS sample. The average and median revisions are based on estimates for the most

 recent 12 months.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, March 14, 2024. Additional information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

 nonsampling error, sample design, and definitions may be found at <www.census.gov/retail/how_surveys_are_collected.html>.

(Estimates are shown as percents and are based on data from the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey and Monthly Retail Trade Survey)

Median standard error(1) for Revision for monthPercent change to-month change(2)