Retail Trade Industry Guide, NAICS Code 44 & 45

Definition | Databases | Industry Data | Library Collection | Trade Associations | Careers

Scope of This Guide:

Companies in the Retail Trade sector engage in selling merchandize in small quantities to the general public, and in services relating to sales activities. Most retailing is conducted by department stores and general merchandizers. Department stores include full-line department stores and specialty department stores, such as Federated Department Stores, J.C. Penney, Nordstrom, Saks, and Sears.

General merchandizers are high-volume stores that carry a broad assortment of merchandise. Much of this portion is further segmented into discounters and supercenters, and include Wal-mart, Target, Kmart , Sam's Club (a division of Wal-Mart) and Costco.

Additionally, the Retail Trade sector includes companies engaged in electronic, mail-order, vending, and direct to consumer sales.

Merchandize lines are categorized as soft goods, which are generally comprised of clothing, and hard goods, which include all other products, including seasonal non-clothing items.

Retailing is the final distribution channel for consumer goods. Companies often use sophisticated information systems to gather consumer behavior data, acquire merchandise, and manage inventory.

Industry Definitions: Description by NAICS Sector / Sub-Sector


CODE	NAICS Sector (WHAT is NAICS?)
44-45	Retail Trade
441	Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers [link to related Industry Guide]
442	Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores
443	Electronics and Appliance Stores
444	Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers
445	Food and Beverage Stores[link to related Industry Guide]
446	Health and Personal Care Stores
448	Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores
451	Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores
452	General Merchandise Stores
453	Miscellaneous Store Retailers
454	Nonstore Retailers

Databases for Industry Research

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage

Industry surveys
Bond ratings
Company profiles and corporation records
Stock, bond and fund research

Plunkett Research Online (Industry Information)

Industry sector analysis and research
Industry trends and statistics
Market research and trends
Company profiles

Reuters Research On-Demand

Real-time full-text investment research
Reports cover companies and industries
Over 750 contributing firms

ValueLine

Aggregate data and analysis on industries
Reports, articles, and company highlights

ABI/Inform (via ProQuest)

Indexes over 1000 business periodicals
Trade journals, business magazines, academic journals and other news sources
Most articles full text

IBISWorld

Over 700 full-text industry reports
Over 700 US industry risk rating reports
Information on over 8000 Publicly Traded Companies
Hundreds of economic and demographic profiles

For additional database choices, see:

Selected U.S./World Industry Data & Company Sites

U. S. Data


Bureau of Economic Analysis / U.S. Dept of Commerce GDP - Gross Domestic Product (current & historical, by industry sector and by type of goods) Disposable Personal Income Survey of Current Business online Bureau of Labor Statistics / U.S. Dept of Labor Consumer Price Index Inflation rate Consumer expenditures Employment & earnings Business Cycle Indicators (U.S. Data) / The Conference Board Leading, concurrent and lagging indicators Index of Consumer Confidence Census Bureau / U.S. Dept of Commerce Annual Retail Trade Data Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services 2002 Economic Census - Retail Trade Federal Reserve Discount Window / Federal Open Market Committee Federal Fund Target Interest Rate set by the Federal Reserve Primary Credit Interest Rate Secondary Credit Interest Rate Current & historical discount interest rates Article about the Discount Window	Chain Store Age Business Library, Periodicals DSN Retailing Today Retail Merchandiser Business Library, Periodicals Stores (National Retail Federation) Top 100 Retailers (annual, 1998-2005) Top 100 Specialty Stores (annual, 1998-2005) Top 250 Global Retailers (annual, 1999-2006) Feature articles for current and past issues "Beige Book" Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions / Federal Reserve Board Report of economic conditions by industry sector and by federal reserve region. Released 8 times/year Helps the Federal Open Market Committee set federal monetory policy (including interest rates) for the months ahead.

World Data


Eurostat (European Union) General statistics Economy and finance Population and social conditions Industry, trade and services Agriculture and fisheries External trade Environment and energy Foreign Trade Statistics (U.S. Census Bureau) Data by end-use, NAICS code, country, etc. Monthly, year to date, and annual compilations Imports and exports, to and from the U.S. International Trade Statistics Yearbook United Nations Business Library, Reference: HF91.U47301 Import/export values and quantities by country for commodities (v. 1) Import/export values by commodity for countries (v. 2) Commodities are reported by SITC instead of than NAICS International Trade Statistics (World Trade Organization) Quick profiles of members and other nations Time series data (1980 - to date), for international trade in merchandise and commercial services	National Retail Federation - "The Voice of Retail Worldwide" News Data Regulatory issues Extensive information SourceOECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) International economic policy and statistics International trade data Choose "Statistics" Choose "ITCS" Choose an OECD country Economic indicators UN Comtrade (United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database) Data for all available countries Since 1962. World Development Indicators (World Bank) Nearly 800 statistical indicators Social and economic development. World View People Environment Economy States and Markets Global Links

Selected Companies

Costco Wholesale Corporation

Federated Deptartment Stores

The Home Depot, Inc.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc.

Lowe's Companies, Inc.

Office Depot, Inc.

OfficeMax Inc.

Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Staples, Inc.

Target Corporation

Wal-mart Stores, Inc.

Resources for Identifying Companies in the Industry

Hoover’s Online

Proprietary company overviews
Industry breakdowns and explanations
Competitor listings
Financial synopses

Lexis/Nexis Corporate Affiliations
Business Library, Reference: HG4057.A219

U.S. corporate directory
Holding company directory

Mergent Online

Information on 11,000 U.S. public companies and 17,000 non-U.S. Public companies
Detailed, standardized financial statements
Searchable by company name, industry codes, revenue levels, and other characteristics
Comparative analysis among companies
Access to SEC reports

Ward’s Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
Business Library, Reference: HG4057.A56

Listings organized by NAICS code
Ranks public and private companies by revenues/sales

Library Collections: Selected Reference Titles & Call Number Ranges

Selected Reference Titles

For additional materials, contact the Schreyer Business Library.

Industry Research Using the Economic Census : How to Find It, How to Use It / Boettcher, Jennifer C.
Business Library, Reference: HC101.B594

Logistics and Retail Management : Insights into Current Practice and Trends from Leading Experts / 2nd ed., Fernie, John.
Business Library: HD38.5.L614

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Carrefour, S.A. : a competitive analysis of the global retail industry
Social Sciences Library: Thesis 2003sFee,MS

Call # Ranges

Retail trade
3rd Floor Paterno: HF5428-5429.6

Shopping centers and malls
3rd Floor Paterno: HF5429.7-5430.6

Purchasing, selling , sales personnel, sales executives
3rd Floor Paterno: HF5437-5444

Canvassing and peddling (direct sales)
3rd Floor Paterno: HF5446-5459

Department stores, mail order business, supermarkets, and convenience stores
3rd Floor Paterno: HF5460-5469.5

Markets and fairs
3rd Floor Paterno: HF5469.7-5481

Trade Associations: Selected Industry Associations Web Sites

National Retail Federation Inc.

Retail Industry Leaders Association - includes links to state retail associations

Canada Retail Council

See also Associations Unlimited for association listings by subject or keyword.
See also ABI/Inform for articles reporting trade association data.

Career Information: Selected Sources for Employment Information

Career Opportunities in the Retail and Wholesale Industry
Business Library, Reference: HF5429.F434 2001

NRF Foundation Retail Careers & Advancement

WetFeet.com - "Helping you make smarter career decisions"

Vault Online Career Library (Currently, Vault Guides are facing problems opening in Adobe Reader 8.x. Please see here for using FREE Adobe Digital Editions to access these guides)

Vault provides full-text career and industry guides
Includes company profiles, occupation descriptions, and career-related articles

Career Guide to Industries (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Business Library, Reference: HF5382.5.U5 C3162

Occupational Outlook Handbook (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
CAT record for print copies
Business Library, Reference: HD8051.A623

Career Resources Page

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