Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Published date22 January 2020
Citation85 FR 3606
Record Number2020-00979
SectionNotices
CourtCensus Bureau,Commerce Department
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 14 (Wednesday, January 22, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 22, 2020)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 3606-3607]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2020-00979]
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                DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
                Census Bureau
                Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
                 The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management
                and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of
                information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
                 Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
                 Title: Monthly Retail Surveys.
                 OMB Control Number: 0607-0717.
                 Form Number(s): MRTS: SM-44(17)S, SM-44(17)SE, SM-44(17)SS, SM-
                44(17)B, SM-44(17)BE, SM-44(17)BS, SM-72(17)S, and SM-20(17)I; MARTS:
                SM-44(17)A, SM-44(17)AE, SM-44(17)AS, and SM-72(17)A.
                 Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
                 Number of Respondents: 13,000.
                 Average Hours per Response: 7 minutes.
                 Burden Hours: 18,200.
                 Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests an extension of the
                Monthly Retail Surveys (MRS). The MRS is comprised of two surveys known
                as the Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) and the Advance Monthly
                Retail Trade Survey (MARTS). The MRS are administered monthly to a
                sample of employer firms (i.e., businesses with paid employees) with
                establishments located in the United States and classified in retail
                trade and/or food services sectors as defined by the North American
                Industry Classification System (NAICS).
                 The MRTS provides estimates of monthly retail sales, end-of-month
                merchandise inventories, and quarterly e-commerce sales of retailers in
                the United States. In addition, the survey also provides an estimate of
                monthly sales at food service establishments and drinking places.
                 Sales, inventories, and e-commerce data provide a current
                statistical picture of the retail portion of consumer activity. The
                sales and inventories estimate in the MRTS measure current trends of
                economic activity that occur in the United States. The survey estimates
                provide valuable information for economic policy decisions and actions
                by the government and are widely used by private businesses, trade
                organizations, professional associations, and others for market
                research and analysis. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) uses these
                data in determining the consumption portion of Gross Domestic Product
                (GDP).
                 The MARTS, a subsample of MRTS, began in 1953 as a monthly survey
                for activity taking place during the previous month. The MARTS was
                developed in response to requests by government, business, and other
                users to provide an early indication of current retail trade activity
                in the United States. Retail sales are one of the primary measures of
                consumer demand for both durable and non-durable goods. The MARTS also
                provide an estimate of monthly sales at food service establishments and
                drinking places.
                 The estimates produced in the MRS are critical to the accurate
                measurement of total economic activity. The estimates of retail sales
                represent all operating receipts, including receipts from wholesale
                sales made at retail locations and services rendered as part of the
                sale of the goods, by businesses that primarily sell at retail. The
                sales estimates include sales made on credit as well as on a cash basis
                but exclude receipts from sales taxes and interest charges from credit
                sales. Also excluded is non-operating income from such services as
                investments and real estate.
                 The estimates of merchandise inventories owned by retailers
                represent all merchandise located in retail stores, warehouses,
                offices, or in transit for distribution to retail establishments. The
                estimates of merchandise inventories exclude fixtures and supplies not
                held for sale, as well as merchandise held on consignment owned by
                others. The BEA use inventories data to determine the investment
                portion of the GDP. We publish retail sales and inventories estimates
                based on the NAICS.
                 Sales data for select industries are released in the press release
                ``Advance Monthly Sales for Retail Trade and Food Services,''
                approximately 15 days after the close of the reference month, which
                also includes more detailed estimates for the prior month. Advance
                inventory estimates for 3 aggregate levels are released in the
                ``Advance Economic Indicator Report'' approximately 27 days after the
                close of the reference month and the preliminary estimates for
                inventories data are released in the ``Manufacturing and Trade
                Inventories and Sales'' approximately 40 days after the reference
                month.
                 Retail e-commerce sales are estimated from the same sample used to
                estimate preliminary and final U.S. retail sales. For coverage of the
                universe of e-commerce retailers, research was conducted to ensure that
                retail firms selected in the MRTS sample engaged in e-commerce. E-
                commerce sales estimates are released quarterly as part of the
                ``Quarterly Retail Ecommerce Sales'' report, approximately 50 days
                following the reference period.
                [[Page 3607]]
                 Below are the retail form numbers along with a description of each
                form.
                 MRTS Forms
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Series Description
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                SM-44(17)S........................ Non-Department Store/Sales Only/WO E-Commerce.
                SM-44(17)SE....................... Non-Department Store/Sales Only W E-Commerce.
                SM-44(17)SS....................... Non-Department Store/Sales Only/Screener.
                SM-44(17)B........................ Non-Department Store/Sales and Inventory/WO E-Comm.
                SM-44(17)BE....................... Non-Department Store/Sales and Inventory/W E-Comm.
                SM-44(17)BS....................... Non-Department Store/Sales and Inventory/Screener.
                SM-72(17)S........................ Food Services/Sales Only/WO E-Commerce.
                SM-20(17)I........................ Non-Department and Department Store/Inventory Only.
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 MARTS Forms
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Series Description
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                SM-44(17)A........................ Non-Department Store/Sales Only/WO E-Commerce.
                SM-44(17)AE....................... Non-Department Store/Sales Only W E-Commerce.
                SM-44(17)AS....................... Non-Department Store/Sales Only/Screener.
                SM-72(17)A........................ Food Services/Sales Only/WO E-Commerce.
                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Each MRS form has two versions: One with an ``E'' suffix and one
                with an ``A'' Suffix. The forms are identical, except that those with
                the ``E'' suffix are sent to smaller firms (which we refer to
                internally as ``EINs''), while those with the ``A'' suffix are sent to
                larger firms, which we refer to internally as ``alphas''. Thus, there
                are a total of 24 variants of forms along with their fax counterparts.
                Forms can be found at https://www.census.gov/retail/get_forms.html.
                 The U.S. Census Bureau tabulates the collected data to provide,
                with measured reliability, statistics on United States retail sales.
                These estimates are especially valued by data users because of their
                timeliness.
                 The sales estimates are used by the BEA, Council of Economic
                Advisers (CEA), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), Bureau of Labor Statistics
                (BLS), and other government agencies, as well as business users in
                formulating economic decisions.
                 BEA is the primary Federal user of data collected in the Monthly
                Retail Surveys. BEA uses the information in its preparation of the
                National Income and Products Accounts (NIPA), and its benchmark and
                annual input-output tables. Data on retail sales are used to prepare
                monthly estimates of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE)
                component of gross domestic product for all PCE goods categories,
                except tobacco, prescription drugs, motor vehicles, and gasoline and
                other motor fuel. These estimates are also published each month in the
                Personal Income and Outlays press release. If the survey were not
                conducted, BEA would lack comprehensive data from the retail sector.
                This would adversely affect the reliability of the NIPA and GDP.
                Production of the NIPA figures also require inventory figures in order
                to publish the monthly inventory to sales ratios. Additionally, they
                use MRS inventory figures to measure changes in inventories for
                estimates of gross output in the annual Input-Output Accounts tables,
                as well as for computing annual and quarterly GDP-by-industry
                statistics.
                 BLS uses the data as input to their Producer Price Indexes and in
                developing productivity measurements. The data are also used for
                gauging current economic trends of the economy. BLS uses the estimates
                to develop consumer price indexes used in inflation and cost of living
                calculations.
                 CEA, other government agencies, and businesses use the survey
                results to formulate and make decisions. CEA reports the retail data,
                one of the principal federal economic indicators, to the President each
                month for awareness on the current picture on the ``state of the
                economy''. In addition, CEA's Macroeconomic Forecaster uses the retail
                sales data, one of the key monthly data releases each month, to keep
                track of real economic growth in the current quarter.
                 Policymakers such as the FRB need to have the timeliest estimates
                in order to anticipate economic trends and act accordingly.
                 Private businesses use the retail sales and inventories data to
                compute business activity indexes. The private sector also uses retail
                sales as a reliable indicator of consumer activity. In addition,
                businesses use the estimates to measure how they are performing and
                predict future demand for their products.
                 Affected Public: Business and other for-profit.
                 Frequency: Monthly.
                 Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
                 Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 131 and 182.
                 This information collection request may be viewed at
                www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce
                collections currently under review by OMB.
                 Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
                collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice
                to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.
                Sheleen Dumas,
                Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
                Officer, Commerce Department.
                [FR Doc. 2020-00979 Filed 1-21-20; 8:45 am]
                 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P
                

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