Evening star., 1931-06-22
WASHINGTONIANS SPEND
AVERAGE OF $681 YEARLY
TO LEAD COUNTRY
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low with a minimum purchase of $172
per capita, while New York and Cali
fornia are high with $575 per capita.
The sales by stores for the States
show an average range of $19.S27 in
South Carolina, which is low, to $39,-
IT'S in Michigan, which is high.
While the District purchaser holds
the undisputed right at the top for the
whole country, the great margin which
local establishments show over those
of the States in bulk sales Is said prob
ably to be due to the fact that in the
States as q whole so many rural estab-
liShmentS have to be counted, while
here the population is entirely metro
politan.
The statement covers all stores res
taurants, filling stations and other re-
tail establishments, except strictly serv-
ice businesses.
DR.. McFalPs Statement.
DR.. Robert ]. McFall. chief sta tisti-
clan for distribution, Bureau OF the
Census, under whose supervision the
census OF distribution is being conduct
ed, issued this statement:
Retail sales totals, announced by the
Bureau of the Census today, afford the
first quantitative measurement of re-
tail-store business in the United States.
For the first time we now know the
number of retail stores in the United
States; the average sales of such stores,
and the per capita retail-store pur-
chases Of American people, as well as
total sales of retail stores.
Distribution figures show that the
total sales of retail stores amounted to
more than $4,000, ,000, 900 in 1929, which
was undoubtedly typical business year.
This summary and the detailed re-
ports of the retail and wholesale trade
in the various cities and communities
in the United States will be productive
Of many far-reaching changes in our
national distribution system. Business
men now have knowledge instead of
guesses concerning retail trade as a re-
suit of the current census OF distribu-
ton, the first of its kind ever compiled
in this or any other country.
"The Bureau of the Census Is engaged
in the compilation of valuable informa-
ton regarding merchandising costs and
methods. All this census Of distribu-
ton information is invaluable to manu-
facturers and others selling through re-
tailers, as a means of adjusting their
sales quotas and improving their sales
policies.
THE retail store figures of over $5o.-
900 ,000, 900 announced today do not in
clude strictly service businesses, such as
laundries, cleaners, barber shops and
the like. Neither do they include the
retail sales made by wholesalers. al
though they do include s2me wholesale
sales made by retailers and the sales
Of restaurants
Businesses Classified.
A considerable business in supplies
and equipment. though sold to the ulti-
mate consumer for utilization rather
than for resale. and not appearing again
in commerce. is not included here. but
will appear in the wholesale totals to
be issued later.
The supplies and equipment classifi-
cations include such merchandise as
hotel supplies, factory, mine and store
supplies cash registers and other store
equipment, dentists and physicians sup
plies. In addition to sales through re-
tail stores there are sales at retail by
producers of bakery goods and milk pro-
ducers, neither of which ordinarily come
within the scope of retail store opera
ton. There are also considerable sales
to ultimate consumers Of products of
planning mills and various other manu-
facturers. In addition, the sales through
dining rooms or cafes Of European plan
hotels are not shown in the retail fig
ures. The volume of some of these
kinds Of businesses which are not in
cluded are known, but others must be
estimated