Glossary
Advance Monthly Retail Trade Report
The Advance Monthly Retail Trade Report is the Census Bureau's early monthly estimate of US retail sales, distributed as PDF and workbook advance reports and archived continuously since October 1953 - about 1,010 files in the Retail Historical Data Portal.
What is the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Report?
Each month Census issues an advance report ahead of the full survey publication; the portal granularity field labels them simply 'Monthly (advance reports)'. They are the first federal statement of the month's retail sales, later superseded by revised MRTS figures.
The archive is unusually deep. The US Census Retail Historical Data Portal lists 'Advance Monthly Retail Trade reports from October 1953' with an estimated_size of 'About 1,010 advance report files', and the MRTS record independently confirms 'Advance reports archived from October 1953'. Seventy-plus years of first prints make the series usable for studying revisions, not just levels.
Why does the Advance Monthly Retail Trade Report matter when choosing a dataset?
The report is where revision measurement becomes possible. Because every advance print since October 1953 survives - roughly 1,010 files - you can compare first estimates against final values decade by decade instead of trusting a vendor's claim that revisions are small.
For apparel, grocery and home-furnishing analysts, the practical consequence is vintage discipline: any series built from these reports must record whether a figure came from the advance file or the revised survey. Feeds that collapse the two erase exactly the information this archive exists to preserve, while offering nothing the free originals lack.
How do you evaluate Advance Monthly Retail Trade Reports in a source?
- Check the archive start date. Genuine collections reach back to October 1953; anything shorter should say so rather than imply full history.
- Count the files. About 1,010 advance report files is the portal's own estimate - a quick completeness test against any reseller's library.
- Preserve the original format pairing. Reports ship as PDFs and workbooks; conversions should keep issue dates so vintage stays identifiable.
- Pair advances with revised MRTS. One without the other defeats revision analysis; the MRTS workbook series supplies the second leg.
Related terms
- monthly-retail-trade-survey - the revised series the advance reports precede.
Industry cuts using these reports sit under apparel-retail data and food-retail data.
Frequently asked questions
How far back do advance retail trade reports go?
To October 1953. Both the MRTS record and the Retail Historical Data Portal date the archive to that month, totalling about 1,010 advance report files.
What format are the advance reports in?
PDF and workbook advance reports, published monthly. The portal lists them under a Monthly (advance reports) granularity alongside roughly 1,010 files.
Datasets containing this field
Datasets containing Advance Monthly Retail Trade Report
6 datasets carry advance monthly retail trade report in the catalog. Open one, count the fields, judge for yourself.
eCommerce Behavior Data from Multi-Category Store (Apparel Segment)
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UCI Online Retail
UCI Online Retail II
UK ONS Retail Sales Index - Retail Industry
US Census Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS)
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