[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30474-30476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14479]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Annual Retail Trade Survey

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 9, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, 
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 
5033, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or

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copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Ronald L. Piencykoski, Bureau of the Census, Room 
2626-FOB 3, Washington, D.C. 20233-6500, (301) 457-2660.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS) provides a sound statistical 
basis for the formation of policy by other government agencies. It 
provides continuing and timely national statistics on retail trade 
augmenting the period between economic censuses and is a continuation 
of similar retail trade surveys conducted each year since 1951 (except 
1954). The data collected--annual sales, purchases, end-of-year 
inventories, and accounts receivables--are applicable to a variety of 
public and business needs. The estimates of purchased merchandise are 
used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to estimate trade margins 
on commodities sold in calculating the personal consumption portion of 
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Accounts receivable balances are used 
by the Federal Reserve Board in measuring consumer credit. Businesses 
use these data to determine market share and to compare results.
    The ARTS sample consists of all firms operating retail 
establishments within the U.S. whose probability of selection is 
determined by sales size, as reported in the Monthly Retail Trade 
Survey (MRTS). An additional panel of cases who report only in the 
annual survey are also canvassed. Estimates developed in the ARTS are 
used to benchmark the monthly sales and inventories series.
    We currently publish retail sales and inventory estimates on the 
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) basis. Starting in the spring 
of 2001, we will publish on the North American Industry Classification 
System (NAICS). The SIC definition of retail trade and the NAICS 
definition of retail trade are substantially different. The SIC defines 
retailers as establishments engaged in selling merchandise for personal 
or household consumption and rendering services incidental to the sale 
of the goods. NAICS distinguishes retailers from wholesalers based on 
what the establishment does rather than to whom the establishment 
sells. Retailers are defined as those establishments that sell 
merchandise and attract customers using methods such as advertising, 
point-of-sale location, and display of merchandise. A store retailer 
has a selling place open to the public, merchandise on display or 
available through sales clerks, facilities for making cash or credit 
card transactions, and service provided to retail customers. NAICS will 
change the information that is currently available with 
reclassifications, definitional changes, and movement of activities in 
or out of retail trade.
    Conversion from the SIC to NAICS will significantly affect selected 
industries within the retail trade.

--A new sector called Accommodation and Food Services is created and 
will be canvassed in the ARTS. Restaurants move from retail trade into 
this new sector. We will continue to collect monthly sales from 
restaurants and publish a separate Food Services Total. Accommodations 
will move from the Service Annual Survey into the ARTS and will be 
collected and published under this new sector
--The redefinition of the boundary between the retail and wholesale 
sectors, as described above, will move establishments from the 
wholesale sector to the retail sector. Preliminary results from the 
1997 Economic Census indicate about 15 percent of establishments 
classified under SIC in the wholesale sector will move to the retail 
sector under NAICS. We expect the most movement in Automotive parts, 
accessories, and tire stores; computer and software stores; Farm 
supplies dealers; Office supplies and stationery stores; and Fuel oil 
dealers
--Retail Bakeries (without seating) will move to the manufacturing 
sector
--Pawn Shops will move to the finance sector
--Mobile Home Dealers, which are currently included in Building 
Materials, will be included in Miscellaneous Store Retailers
--Computer and Software Stores will be recognized as separate 
industries under NAICS because of growing interest among public and 
private data users
--The Durable and Nondurable aggregate totals will be eliminated from 
publication under NAICS
--Under NAICS, we will discontinue collecting inventories from the food 
service subsector. We will collect and publish inventories only for the 
Retail Sector
--Under NAICS, all auxiliary facilities such as warehouses are 
classified based on the primary activity. Under SIC, warehouses are 
classified based on the industry classification of the establishments 
they primarily serve. We will continue to publish the warehouse 
inventory of retailers in its respective kind-of-business

    In addition to the change to NAICS, the Census Bureau will begin 
collecting Internet sales separately starting in 2000 for data years 
1998 and 1999. Currently, online sales are included with catalog sales 
in our overall retail estimates. With the dramatic growth of sales on 
the Internet, and the impact of those sales on retail activity, we 
propose to add several new questions to our survey instruments. We plan 
to ask all firms if and when they began selling through an Internet 
site and to separately report the value of their Internet sales 
included in total sales for data years 1998 and 1999. The ARTS will 
ensure that sales transactions ordered and paid for online are captured 
and published separately and made available to the public in early 
2001. We are also proposing more detailed questions of our non-store 
retailers, one asking for a dollar volume breakout along major 
merchandise lines for both total and Internet sales, and another 
concerning the amount of Internet sales destined for shipment outside 
the United States. In addition to these Internet questions, we also 
plan to ask computer stores and non-store retailers to provide a 
percentage breakout of their total sales by class of customer. We will 
of course test all proposed questions with a sample of respondents to 
determine the feasibility and to estimate any additional reporting 
burden.

II. Method of Collection

    We will collect this information by mail, FAX and telephone follow-
up.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0607-0013.
    Form Number: SA-44, SA-44A, SA-45, SA-44C, SA-45C, and SA-721 under 
NAICS. B-151, B-151A, B-151D, B-153, and B-153D under SIC.
    Type of Review: Regular Submission.
    Affected Public: Retail Businesses.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20,960 under NAICS. 23,700 under 
SIC.
    Estimated Time Per Response: .4333 hrs (26 minutes) under NAICS 
.4142 hrs (25 minutes) under SIC.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 9,082 hours under NAICS 9,817 
hours under SIC.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: The cost to the respondent is 
estimated to be $160,388, based on an annual response burden of 9,082 
hours and a rate of $17.66 per hour to complete the form.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, U.S.C., Sections 182, 224, and 225.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including

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whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of 
the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: June 2, 1999.
Linda Engelmeier,
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 99-14479 Filed 6-7-99; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P