Censuses of Retail Trade

The first Census of Retail Trade, "which covered the year 1929, was part of the census of business (which included also wholesale trade in its scope). Beginning with the second business census, for 1933, various service trades were also included. With the 1972 Economic Censuses, however, each segment - retail trade, wholsale trade, and selected service industries - is considered a separate census. The 1972 census was the 10th census of retail trade of the United States." [source: Guide to industrial statistics : industrial statistics program, locator guide to published data, types of data presented, publications of major censuses, other sources of statistics. 1978, p. 86.]