ABSTRACT
This chapter profiles financial data related to the U.S. retail industry. This data includes government sector classifications at higher levels and financial reports of selected companies at the lower levels. Every five years, the U.S. Census Bureau documents all industries in considerable detail, including the sector called retail trades. Summarizing this data in what the bureau calls the Economic Census leads to a better understanding of the retail industry’s size in the world’s largest market, how retailing fits with its sister supply chain sectors, and some of the differences between individual retail industry sectors.
