U.S. Retail Sales Top $5,570 Billion
January 15, 2022
Retail sales (NAICS 44-45) for the nation increased 3.1% from $5,402.3 billion in 2019 to $5,570.4 billion in 2020, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS).
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses (NAICS 4541) had $888.5 billion in sales in 2020, up 35.2% from 2019. This was the largest year-to-year increase of any industry in 2020.
Other highlights:
- Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers’ (NAICS 441) sales decreased 2.4% from $1,237.7 billion in 2019 to $1,208.3 billion in 2020.
- Grocery Store sales (NAICS 4451) increased 9.4% from $694.3 billion in 2019 to $759.7 billion in 2020.
- Gasoline Station (NAICS 447) sales decreased 16.6% from $513.5 billion in 2019 to $428.1 billion in 2020.
The ARTS includes statistics for total annual sales, total and e-commerce sales, total and e-commerce sales by merchandise line for NAICS 4541, sales taxes, end-of-year inventories, purchases, total operating expenses and gross margins for retail businesses. Sales, inventory, quarterly e-commerce and state retail sales data are also available in the Monthly Retail Trade Survey.
