THE STATE OF LOCAL RETAIL
THE NATION
We analyzed transactions for every day of the 2017 calendar year at 54,000 small, independent retailers across America. The result is a comprehensive look at when local retailers earn the most money, when they’re busiest, and which states make the most from patrons who #shoplocal.
Use the map below to see local retail data for every state, or scroll down for the national report.
What we learned about local retailers in America
The local retail industry is perhaps one of the most unique industries we’ve analyzed so far. While there are strong national trends seen at the local level, most states respond to seasonal sales in their own way. Take Delaware and Utah as examples. Delaware, the 2nd-ranked state for average daily revenue, thrives on the holiday sales spike in the week following Black Friday. However, in Utah, the 3rd-ranked state for daily revenue, it’s all about May sales. In fact, November and December are sub-average for Utah’s retailers.
That said, there are still general trends retailers across the nation follow from week to week and month to month. For the most part, the revenue ups-and-downs are driven by seasonal and holiday factors, none more so than November and December. During the peak season for retailers, many business owners make 1 out of every 4 dollars they’ll make for the year.
This in-depth analysis will break down the key metrics behind the forces driving revenue changes as well as provide a look at the average day, week, month, and year for retailers on the national and state level.
Understanding this report
To understand the average day for retailers in America, we need to take a multidimensional look at the revenue performance on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis. To do this we break retailers’ daily revenue into the three fundamental metrics we’ll use to identify trends:
Transactions, or how many individual payments retailers process, gives us a sense of when retailers are busiest. While it is not an indication of visitors, it does tell us how many individual payments are processed during the period.
Purchase Price, or how much patrons spend on average per transaction, is an interesting metric to track for retailers. Often, the biggest revenue days for retailers are the same days when consumers spend the least per transaction.
Revenue is the metric that most business owners are familiar with. It’s the result of the number of transactions processed during the period and the amount consumers spent per transaction. It’s our mainsail metric and the one we used most to track the seasonal impact on local retailers.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ AVERAGE DAY
To get started, let’s take a look at the average day for local retailers across the country. On an average day, local retailers in the United States process 13 transactions at $121 per purchase, which results in $1,576 in daily revenue.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ AVERAGE DAY
- REVENUE: $1,576
- TRANSACTIONS: 13
- PURCHASE PRICE: $121
How do the states rank?
As a part of our local retail analysis, we ranked all 50 states according their average daily revenue. Here’s how it they rank.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ AVERAGE WEEK
Next, let’s look beyond the daily trends to the average sales week for independent retailers. In 2017, local retailers typically made $11,064 each week, thanks to 91 weekly transactions at the average purchase price of $121.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ AVERAGE WEEK
- REVENUE: $11,064
- TRANSACTIONS: 91
- PURCHASE PRICE: $121
Local retailers’ average daily revenue by day of the week
While it’s helpful to know what an average week looks like, most business owners can tell you just how different each day of the week can be for sales. To see how daily revenue changes during the week, refer to the top-center chart.
In 2017, local retailers made $1,941 on Fridays which was the best revenue generating day of the week. On the flip-side, Sunday is the slowest day for retailers; they only generate $801 in daily revenue.
Local retailers’ daily transactions by day of the week
While Friday was the best day for retailer revenue last year, Saturday is when local retailers were busiest, averaging 16.6 transactions. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Sunday, their slowest day of the week, when they only average 8.9 transactions. To see how the number of daily transactions changes from day to day, refer to the graph labeled, “transactions.”
Local retailers’ purchase price across the days of the week
Purchase price changes are quite interesting. In general, as the week progresses, the amount customers typically pay per purchase drops to the point that consumers are paying the least they pay all week on the busiest days for local retailers. So while Monday and Tuesday are slower revenue days for local retailers, it’s when their customers are spending the most per purchase.
Local retailers’ weekday vs. weekend
Next, let’s see how consumer spending at local retailers varies from weekdays to weekends. In this analysis, we have grouped Monday-Thursday as “weekdays,” and Friday-Sunday as “weekends.”
Generally speaking, weekdays and weekends don’t differ much on the national level. Weekdays are usually a bit better for revenue generation, and it’s when customers spend a bit more per purchase, but overall there isn’t a huge difference..
Local retailers’ top 3 weeks
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that most states have their best sales week during the holiday rush, but did you know that in 2017 the week leading up to Christmas Eve (December 17 to December 23) was the single best week for local retailers in 39 states and it was in the top-three weeks for 84% of local retailers nationally? Here’s a look at the top three weeks for local retailers’ revenue:
BEST WEEK
- December 17 – December 23
- 146% higher than their average week
SECOND-BEST WEEK
- December 10 – December 16
- 125% higher than their average week
THIRD-BEST WEEK
- November 26 – December 2
- 120% higher than their average week
LOCAL RETAILERS’ AVERAGE MONTH
Now, let’s look at the average sales month for retailers and how annual revenue is distributed across the months of the year, as well as how much retailers typically make each month.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ AVERAGE MONTH
- REVENUE: $47,943
- TRANSACTIONS: 395
- PURCHASE PRICE: $121
For starters, local, independent retailers average $47,943 in revenue each month, thanks to 395 monthly transactions at an average purchase price of $121.
Local retailers’ percentage of annual revenue by month
In the graph above, we see the highest and lowest revenue-generating months for local retailers. This shows us that the average retailer makes 9.9% of their annual revenue in December alone, when retailers averaged $57,046 for the month. By contrast, January is typically the slowest month for retailers, as it only generates 6.9% of their annual revenue.
While a few percentage points may not seem that significant, there is a $17,128 difference in total monthly revenue between local retailers’ best and slowest months.
Local retailers’ average daily revenue by month
Next, we’ll take a look at the daily revenue for local retailers on a month-to-month basis. The three graphs above illustrate just how much the average daily revenue, transactions, and purchase prices fluctuate from month to month.
For example, the best month for local retailer revenues is December, when local retailers typically make $1,840 per day.
Local retailers’ average daily transactions by month
Next, we see how the average daily transaction volume varies from month to month, revealing the ebbs and flows of shoppers visiting local retailers. We can see that in December–the month when transaction volume is highest–local retailers average 15.5 daily transactions.
Local retailers’ average daily purchase price by month
Which month do consumers spend the most per-purchase with local retailers? November. Consumers tend to spend $128 per purchase, compared to their usual purchase price of $121.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ AVERAGE YEAR
The graphs above give us a week-by-week look at revenue, transactions, and purchase price trends for local retailers across an entire year. Each flat line represents a full Sunday-to-Saturday week.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ AVERAGE YEAR
- REVENUE: $575,314
- TRANSACTIONS: 4,741
- PURCHASE PRICE: $121
All told, last year, local retailers made about $575,314 in annual revenue over 4,741 total transactions at an average purchase price of $121.
Local retailers’ year-end trends
Unsurprisingly, the closer we get to the end of the year, the higher the weeks rank for sales. The end-of-year holiday rush is, without a doubt, the single biggest money-making period for retailers across the country.
Notice the general trends for retailers’ overall revenue, transactions and purchase price as they draw closer to the end of the year. But look a little closer at the average purchase price between November and December and you’ll notice a significant dip. That’s the impact of Black Friday discounts hard at work.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ KEY HOLIDAY SALES PERIODS
The holidays are high season for retail sales. In fact, many states make 1 out of every 4 dollars during this period. Let’s look at how important November and December are in terms of total annual revenue generation and what an average day during these months looks like.
Local retailers during November and December
With November and December accounting for so much of the revenue generated during the course of the year, it helps to know what the “average day” during this period looks like and how it compares to the “average day” during the rest of the year.
During November and December, local retailers average $1,775 in daily revenue which is 12.6% higher than their average day. Those same retailers process 14.4 transactions on a daily basis, but their average customer only spends about $1 more per transaction.
All said, the months of November and December account for 18.8% of local retailers’ annual revenue generation and 18.6% of their annual transactions.
Local retailers from Thanksgiving to Christmas
For most retailers, the holiday sales season doesn’t begin until Black Friday. In fact, the sales periods from Thanksgiving to Christmas is a four-week sprint for retailers across the country and accounts for 10.8% of the revenue local retailers will make for the year.
In the four weeks following Black Friday, local retailers’ average daily revenue jumps 22.7% to $1,933. Those same retailers process 16 transactions on a daily basis but the consumers’ average purchase price increases remains flat at $121 per purchase.
LOCAL RETAILERS’ REVENUE TRENDS ON BLACK FRIDAY, SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY, AND CYBER MONDAY
You can’t talk about holiday sales without mentioning Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. In fact, they are some of the best revenue-generating days for local business owners across the country. Let’s closer look at each of these key sales days.
Local retailers’ average Black Friday
On average, in 2017, Black Friday was the best sales day of the year for local retailers. When we ranked all 365 days of the year for the amount of revenue generated, Black Friday was one of the top 3 days for 40 of the 50 states. In fact, Black Friday was in the top 20 days for every state but Arkansas (where it was the 42nd-best) and Wisconsin (81st).
BLACK FRIDAY
- DAY RANK: 1st
- REVENUE: $3,087
- TRANSACTIONS: 26.1
- PURCHASE PRICE: $118
All told, local retailers’ average daily revenue was 95.9% higher on Black Friday than their average day.
Local retailers’ average Small Business Saturday
It’s hard to follow up Black Friday’s monumental revenue lift, but Small Business Saturday still packs a punch for local retailers’ revenue. It’s in the top 100 days of the year for 37 states and the 22nd-best day of the year nationally.
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY
- DAY RANK: 22
- REVENUE: $2,002
- TRANSACTIONS: 19
- PURCHASE PRICE: $106
Across the state, local retailers averaged $2,002 in daily revenue, 19 transactions, and a purchase price of $106.
Local retailers’ average Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday isn’t just for e-commerce companies like Amazon; in fact, it’s better for small businesses than Small Business Saturday, especially when considering the 22.3% increase in the average customer’s purchase price (during a season when purchase prices are usually well below average). It’s the 11th-best sales day of the year, with local retailers averaging $2,154 in daily revenue, 14.5 transactions, and an average purchase price of $148.
CYBER MONDAY
- DAY RANK: 11
- REVENUE: $2,154
- TRANSACTIONS: 14.5
- PURCHASE PRICE: $148
LOCAL RETAILERS’ PROMINENT DAYS VS. THEIR AVERAGE DAY
Retailers put a lot of focus and work into holidays and big-sale days. Here’s how retailers’ prominent days rank compared to their average day.
| DAY | RANK/365 | DAILY REVENUE | CHANGE IN REVENUE | DAILY TRANSACTIONS | CHANGE IN TRANSACTIONS | AVG PURCHASE PRICE |
CHANGE IN PURCHASE PRICE
|
| MLK day | 283 | $ 1,463.49 | -7% | 11.60 | -11% | $ 126.13 | 4% |
| Valentine’s Day | 118 | $ 1,737.47 | 10% | 13.27 | 2% | $ 130.94 | 8% |
| President’s Day | 134 | $ 1,715.85 | 9% | 12.58 | -3% | $ 136.43 | 12% |
| St. Patrick’s Day | 60 | $ 1,861.57 | 18% | 15.11 | 16% | $ 123.17 | 2% |
| Easter Sunday | 364 | $ 299.67 | -81% | 4.46 | -66% | $ 67.24 | -45% |
| Cinco de Mayo | 30 | $ 1,964.34 | 25% | 15.87 | 22% | $ 123.79 | 2% |
| Mother’s Day | 343 | $ 793.92 | -50% | 9.36 | -28% | $ 84.86 | -30% |
| Memorial Day | 234 | $ 1,602.59 | 2% | 12.00 | -8% | $ 133.56 | 10% |
| Father’s Day | 354 | $ 728.04 | -54% | 8.72 | -33% | $ 83.44 | -31% |
| July 4th | 337 | $ 807.19 | -49% | 8.73 | -33% | $ 92.48 | -24% |
| Veteran’s Day | 92 | $ 1,771.52 | 12% | 16.54 | 27% | $ 107.11 | -12% |
| Thanksgiving | 362 | $ 508.75 | -68% | 5.18 | -60% | $ 98.13 | -19% |
| Black Friday | 1 | $ 3,086.53 | 96% | 26.05 | 101% | $ 118.48 | -2% |
| Small Business Saturday | 22 | $ 2,002.15 | 27% | 18.97 | 46% | $ 105.53 | -13% |
| Cyber Monday | 11 | $ 2,153.40 | 37% | 14.51 | 12% | $ 148.40 | 22% |
| Christmas Eve | 313 | $ 1,023.25 | -35% | 11.18 | -14% | $ 91.52 | -25% |
| Christmas Day | 365 | $ 130.44 | -92% | 1.73 | -87% | $ 75.23 | -38% |
| New Year’s Eve | 342 | $ 795.61 | -50% | 8.59 | -34% | $ 92.62 | -24% |
METHODOLOGY
Womply analyzed daily revenue for 54,000 local, independent retailers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for all 365 days of the 2017 calendar year. Retailers were only qualified for the analysis if Womply had a full year of transaction history and the business recorded multiple transactions per day. Category and overall state rankings are based on a composite score of each state’s transactions, average ticket sizes, and overall daily revenue.
ABOUT WOMPLY
Womply is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider to small businesses and one of the fastest growing software companies in America. Our mission is to help small businesses thrive in a digital world. Every day we serve more than 100,000 small businesses across 400+ business verticals, in every corner of America. To learn more, visit https://www.womply.com or email info@womply.com.