Published by the US Census Bureau, the “Advance Monthly Retail Sales Survey” (Retail Sales) purpose is to provide an early indication of sales by retail and food services companies.
The coverage of this survey includes companies with one or more establishments that sell merchandise and associated services to final consumers.
Retail sales is another economical indicator that gives a signal to certain aspects of the economy. Since the US economy is highly sales-driven, it is natural that this indicator is quite important.
A higher level of sales indicates not only higher profits of companies, but also an increased need for production and higher spending power of the individual households.
Periodicity of publication
Retail sales are published every month by the US Census Bureau, about 9 working days after the close of the reference month.