Updated every 5 years.
Sales are net after deductions for refunds and allowances for merchandise returned by customers.
Trade-in allowances are not deducted from sales. Sales do not include retail sales made by manufacturers, wholesalers, service establishments, or other businesses whose primary activity is other than retail trade. They do include receipts other than from the sale of merchandise at retail, e.g., service receipts, sales to industrial users, and sales to other retailers, by establishments primarily engaged in retail trade. The 1997 Economic Census measured activity during calendar year 1997. Most very small firms were not sent a form, and data from existing administrative records of other Federal agencies were used instead.