Original Research

The volatile and fast-paced world in which retailers compete requires a constant flow of comprehensive information to prepare for the future. NRF Foundation's research and benchmarking studies enhance industry operations and promote best practices.

Retail Horizons

The Benchmarks for 2011 and Forecasts for 2012 is now available!

Retail Horizons, created in 2002, is an annual benchmarking survey of retailers in all segments and formats that examines nine functional areas, and reports trends and intentions
of retail companies for the coming year. It provides fundamental retail metrics on industry statistics such as sales and distribution channels, annual payroll, advertising and public relations efforts, inventory controls, employee benefits, information technology, and much more. This work is widely sought by retailers, industry business partners, and suppliers as the definitive annual state of the industry report.

Retail Horizons offers a detailed overview of a dynamic industry, providing a snapshot of where retailing stands today as well as a glimpse at retailers' plans for the year ahead across multiple industry functions. The full report provides deep insights into the strategic and tactical decisions that inform the future direction of their enterprise.

Retail Industry Indicators

Retail Industry Indicators, initiated in 1991, has become a valuable annual report providing comprehensive demographic data about retailing that serves as an excellent statistical resource for anyone interested in the retail industry. This work is widely used by government officials, members of the press and other
opinion makers as the definitive source for information on the impact of retailing on the economy, the supply chain, and on the nation's employment makeup.

Retail Industry Indicators is a one-stop, comprehensive annual compilation of charts and tables, which includes general and specific-to-sector statistics describing U.S. retail industry economic and business indicators. It uses, where available, historical information for comparison purposes. Data on sales, compensation and employment, profitability, business bankruptcies, shrinkage and other data are reported in national figures. Additional tables report sales, compensation, employment and number of retail establishments in the United States. This edition reports data using NAICS classifications systems, when available, as well as the former SIC systems.

For more information, see the Table of Contents. To order, visit the NRF Bookstore.

Additional Research