The monthly Census Bureau measure of total receipts from U.S. retail stores is retail sales.
The Census Bureau’s Monthly Retail Trade program estimates sales and receipts from establishments primarily engaged in retail trade. Its releases provide national totals as well as figures for categories such as motor vehicles, building materials, food and beverage stores, department stores, and nonstore retailers. An advance report is issued first, followed by revised estimates as more responses become available.
Retail sales are reported in dollars and commonly appear in seasonally adjusted and not-seasonally-adjusted forms. The figures are designed to track retail business activity, so they are useful for monitoring consumer demand and the health of merchants. They do not directly measure every form of household spending.
The biggest common confusion is with consumer spending, which also includes services such as rent, health care, and travel. Wholesale sales measure transactions between businesses, while e-commerce sales are only one portion of retail sales, usually classified under nonstore retailers.