Reports of the retail industry’s death are greatly exaggerated. Here’s a look at the numbers to see what’s really going on. https://nrf.com/future-of-retail

1. The industry has evolved,
but the data hasn’t
Misunderstandings in data analysis stem
from antiquated ideas about how the
retail industry operates, and the Bureau
of Labor Statistics is at the center of this
problem. When the BLS reports retail
jobs numbers it only captures
employees who work in stores, missing
countless industry professionals who
work in non-storejobs such as
innovation labs, call centers, office
headquarters, warehouses or
distribution centers.
The Future
of Retail:
Get the
Facts
nrf.com/futureofretail

2. nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail
We’ve all heard that retail
is in trouble — even serious
trouble, depending on who
you listen to. But reports
of the industry’s death are
greatly exaggerated. Here’s
a look at the numbers to see
what’s really going on.

3. nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail
Source: U.S. Census Bureau and NRF
There are over 1 million retail
establishments across the
United States and retail sales have been
growing at almost 4% annually
since 2010.

4. Retail is alive and well
$2.62trillion
$2.71trillion
$2.72trillion
$2.62trillion
$2.71trillion
$2.8trillion
$2.94trillion
$3.04trillion
$3.17trillion
$3.28trillion
$3.34trillion
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
0
$500 billion
$1 trillion
$1.5 trillion
$2 trillion
$2.5 trillion
$3 trillion
$3.5 trillion
$4 trillion
Total
retail
sales
Annual retail sales
nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

5. nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Online is not “killing”
bricks-and-mortar
businesses.
Online sales currently make
up less than 10% of total retail
sales, and many of those on-
line sales are from traditionally
bricks-and-mortar brands’
websites.

6. nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
In-store vs. online sales over past
five quarters
Q2 2016 Q4 2016Q3 2016 Q1 2017
7.8% 8.5%8.2%8.2%8.0%
92.2% 91.5%91.8%91.8%92.0%
Q1 2016
In-store sales Online sales
In-store vs. online sales: last 5 quarters
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

7. Of the 50 top online retailers, nearly all operate stores;
three in four are traditional bricks-and-mortar
companies.
nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail
eMarketer: Top 50 U.S. Retailers by Online Sales (only top 10 shown)

8. nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail
The industry has evolved,
but the data hasn’t.
Misunderstandings in data analysis stem
from antiquated ideas about how the
retail industry operates, and the Bureau
of Labor Statistics is at the center of this
problem. When the BLS reports retail
jobs numbers it only captures
employees who work in stores, missing
countless industry professionals who
work in non-store jobs such as
innovation labs, call centers, office
headquarters, warehouses or
distribution centers. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

9. nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail
11,200,000
11,400,000
11,600,000
11,800,000
12,000,000
12,200,000
12,400,000
12,600,000
12,800,000
13,000,000
13,200,000
Jan-06
Aug-06
Mar-07
Oct-07
May-08
Dec-08
Jul-09
Feb-10
Sep-10
Apr-11
Nov-11
Jun-12
Jan-13
Aug-13
Mar-14
Oct-14
May-15
Dec-15
Jul-16
Feb-17
Total
retail
employment
seasonally
adjusted
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Monthly retail employment

10. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Retailer hiring is on the rise in
new growth areas
200,309
550,957
2012 2016
Total retail supply chain
and logistics job openings
Total skills demand
195,899
341,974
2012 2016
Total retail engineering
and technology job
openings
Total skills demand
Retail hiring is on the rise in new
growth areas.
Source: Burning Glass Labor Insight database
nrf.com/futureofretailnrf.com/futureofretail

11. nrf.com/futureofretail
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