The state of local retail 2020.
Have you ever wondered how much money people spend at local retail shops, or when they're busiest?
Each year we analyze the previous year's transactions at local businesses to determine how much the average retail shop makes and when they're busiest. This year, of course, will be a different story.
The impact of COVID-19 on local retail shops.
2020 has been a challenge for local businesses across the U.S., and there's no question that local retailers in particuliar have faced unprecidented challenges all year.
So before we take a look back at 2019, it's important to keep in mind the impact that COVID-19 has had on local retailers across the country. According to our data, the average retail business saw total consumer spending from April through October, 2020 drop -4% compared to the same timeframe in 2019. Additionally, 17% of retailers in the U.S. that were transacting before the pandemic hit are closed as of the last week of October.
Our research has shown that some types of retail businesses have fared quite well during the pandemic (sporting goods stores, home improvement stores, etc.), while others (clothing stores, book stores, etc.) have struggled. Whether a local retail business has struggled or thrived through 2020, this report gives insight on which days and months will be extra important for retailers in this unpredictable year.
Use the map below to see local retail data for every state, or scroll down to read our national report.
You can also view reports for major U.S. metro areas. Select your city below:
Understanding this report.
To shed light on how people spend at local retail shops, we examined:
- Transactions: How many individual payments a retail store processes on a given day
- Ticket size: How much customers spend on average per transaction on a given day
- Daily sales revenue: How much revenue a retail store makes on a given day
How much do local retail businesses make on an average day?
On a given day, retail businesses in America brought in an average of $978 in revenue. The average retail business also processed about 13 transactions each day while seeing customers spend an average of $76.95 per ticket.
| Sales revenue | Transactions | Ticket size |
| $978 | 13 | $76.95 |
| National average | National average | National average |
State by state comparison.
When we compare the average day for all retail businesses in each state, shops in Alaska brought in the highest average daily revenue at $1,348.
The largest average ticket belonged to retail shops in Maryland, where the average purchased item cost $94.42.
For the second year in a row, Utah was home to the country's busiest retail shops, with 20 average daily transactions.
Consult the chart below to see where your state stacks up!
| State | Daily Sales Revenue | Sales rev vs national | Ticket size | Ticket size vs national | Average Transactions | Transactions vs national |
|---|
What days of the week are retail shops busiest?
As you might expect, Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest days of the week for retail businesses across the country. More than a third of all revenue comes in on those two days alone. On average, only 42% of retail shops stay open on Sunday, making it by far the slowest day of the week overall.
Retail shops average 16 transactions on Saturdays, making it the busiest day of the week. Interestingly, those retail shops who remain open on Sunday average 14 transactions that day, tying with Friday as the second busiest day of the week among open businesses.
While weekends are the busiest days of the week, Americans spend far more per item on weekdays than on weekends.
What time of year do retail shops make the most money?
Americans clearly love to shop regardless of the season, but two major holidays appear to significantly move the needle for local retail businesses.
Things start slow in January, picking up in time for Valentine's Day. Retail shops see their first major spike around Mother's Day before settling into a consistent groove, and closing out the year on a high note during the holidays.
Again, these figures are for 2019. We expect this chart to look drastically different when we look back at 2020.
Top 5 days for local retail businesses nationwide.
The Friday before Mother's Day was the single-biggest retail day of the year in 2019. Consumer spending on that day was up a whopping 77% compared to a typical day.
While Mother's Day was responsible for the biggest day overall, holiday shopping (last-minute shopping, in particular) is massive for local retail businesses.
Here are the five biggest days of the year in terms of total dollars spent at local retail businesses nationwide.
Top 5 days: total revenue
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
5/10/19 Mother's Day Weekend |
12/23/19 |
12/20/19 Weekend before Christmas |
11/29/19 Black Friday |
12/21/19 Weekend before Christmas |
| Friday | Monday | Friday | Friday | Saturday |
Local retail revenue on prominent days.
There's no doubt that local retailers look to events and major holidays to bring customers in their doors. But Mother's Day and Christmas are only part of the story. Let's see how local retailers across the country do on and around other major holidays throughout the year.
| Day rank based on total sales | How much did retail shops that were open make? | ||||||||
| Day | Day Rank | Total rev vs avg | % of retail shops open | Avg rev | Rev vs avg | Avg txns | Txns vs avg | Avg ticket | Ticket vs avg |
| New Year's Day | 362 | -74% | 26% | $794 | -19% | 12 | -3% | $64.62 | -16% |
| Super Bowl Sunday | 355 | -62% | 39% | $777 | -21% | 13 | 0% | $61.22 | -20% |
| Valentine's Day | 7 | 59% | 88% | $1,431 | 46% | 19 | 50% | $75.18 | -2% |
| St. Patrick's Day | 324 | -50% | 41% | $959 | -2% | 15 | 18% | $63.91 | -17% |
| Easter Weekend | 15 | 41% | 93% | $1,191 | 22% | 16 | 23% | $76.06 | -1% |
| Easter Weekend | 44 | 28% | 82% | $1,230 | 26% | 18 | 42% | $68.27 | -11% |
| Easter Sunday | 363 | -80% | 25% | $641 | -34% | 13 | 1% | $50.05 | -35% |
| Cinco de Mayo | 322 | -49% | 45% | $883 | -10% | 14 | 11% | $62.47 | -19% |
| Mother's Day Weekend | 1 | 77% | 98% | $1,421 | 45% | 18 | 44% | $77.83 | 1% |
| Mother's Day Weekend | 6 | 65% | 86% | $1,502 | 54% | 21 | 68% | $70.40 | -9% |
| Mother's Day | 313 | -44% | 46% | $967 | -1% | 16 | 28% | $59.33 | -23% |
| Memorial Day Weekend | 9 | 44% | 99% | $1,143 | 17% | 15 | 15% | $78.40 | 2% |
| Memorial Day Weekend | 52 | 24% | 82% | $1,201 | 23% | 17 | 35% | $69.94 | -9% |
| Memorial Day | 311 | -43% | 46% | $990 | 1% | 14 | 13% | $69.03 | -10% |
| Father's Day Weekend | 16 | 41% | 100% | $1,110 | 14% | 15 | 16% | $75.32 | -2% |
| Father's Day Weekend | 56 | 24% | 86% | $1,130 | 16% | 17 | 31% | $67.91 | -12% |
| Father's Day | 334 | -52% | 44% | $852 | -13% | 15 | 16% | $57.86 | -25% |
| 4th of July | 337 | -53% | 39% | $958 | -2% | 16 | 26% | $60.09 | -22% |
| Labor Day Weekend | 17 | 41% | 97% | $1,145 | 17% | 15 | 17% | $77.31 | 1% |
| Labor Day Weekend | 72 | 20% | 79% | $1,198 | 23% | 17 | 37% | $68.92 | -10% |
| Labor Day | 312 | -43% | 43% | $1,032 | 6% | 15 | 16% | $70.00 | -9% |
| Halloween | 273 | -9% | 86% | $836 | -15% | 10 | -20% | $81.95 | 7% |
| Thanksgiving Eve | 98 | 16% | 86% | $1,064 | 9% | 13 | 5% | $79.92 | 4% |
| Thanksgiving | 364 | -84% | 18% | $685 | -30% | 12 | -9% | $59.04 | -23% |
| Christmas Eve | 75 | 20% | 65% | $1,446 | 48% | 18 | 39% | $82.14 | 7% |
| Christmas Day | 365 | -94% | 9% | $571 | -42% | 10 | -21% | $56.79 | -26% |
| New Year's Eve | 290 | -14% | 73% | $931 | -5% | 13 | -1% | $74.29 | -4% |
Methodology
Womply analyzed daily revenue for over 40,000 retail shops in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia for all 365 days of the 2019 calendar year. Retail businesses were only included in the analysis if they qualified as small businesses, Womply had a full year of transaction history, and the business recorded multiple transactions per day, on average.