The National Statistics Office (NSO) wrapped up its activities on the recently concluded 2005 Retail Sales Pilot Survey (RSPS) conducted last June to September of 2005. It was the first attempt of the NSO to conduct such type of survey. The RSPS was a joint undertaking of the National Statistics Office (NSO) and the Bureau of Domestic Trade of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-BDT), in cooperation with the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA). The pilot survey aimed to assess the soundness of the survey instrument as well as the response and cooperation of the retailers. It also tested the proposed methodology on the computation of the Retail Sales Index (RSI). A Retail Sales Index is important because it will: (1) provide a macro-view of the business trend in the retail sales industry; (2) serve as benchmark for retailers to help them in their strategic planning; and (3) provide an indicator of broad consumer spending pattern. Lastly, the results of the pilot survey were evaluated to determine if full implementation of a Retail Sales Survey can be carried out.

The pilot survey was conducted only at the National Capital Region. It covered all establishments who are active members of the PRA and some selected active members of the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association (PAGASA) and Philippine Association of Supermarkets Incorporated (PASI).

Only establishments in the retail trade industry were covered in this pilot survey. The following industry groups in retail trade were covered in the pilot survey:

1994 PSIC Code (3-digit Industry Group)	Industry Description
G521	Supermarkets, groceries
	Department stores
G522	Food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores
G523	Drugstores, health and beauty products
	Electronics and Appliances
	Hardware and construction supplies
	Apparel, footwear, fashion wearable, jewelry and fashion accessories
	ICT (computers, computer peripherals, etc.)
	Furniture, furnishings and lighting fixtures
	Furniture, furnishings and lighting fixtures
	Photography and photo supplies
	Optical shops
	Mobile phones and accessories

The main office of the establishment was the unit of enumeration in the pilot survey. Among the data items gathered in the pilot survey were: main product line, total employment, total floor area, annual gross sales from 2001- 2003 and quarterly gross sales from first quarter of 2004 to second quarter of 2005, and the number of branches.

Out of the 166 total number of sample establishments, the overall response rate of the pilot survey was 84.3 percent. The retail establishments that responded to the pilot survey constituted a total number of 1,648 branches. The high turnover of questionnaires indicates a strong support and cooperation of the retailers with the help of the three associations. The respondents were able to accomplish and provide the needed information in the questionnaire. With the cooperation and support gained from the respondents and associations, it is envisioned that the conduct of a full-blown survey is attainable in the near future.

The sales data captured in the pilot survey was used in the generation of the Retail Sales Index (RSI). The RSI is an index number computed based on the Layperes method with 2001 as the base year. The weights were based on the total sales of the industry groups in the retail trade sector of the 2002 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) with reference year of 2001. Annual and quarterly sales indices were computed from the data collected in the pilot survey.

Based on the experiences encountered during field operation, the following are recommended: a) intensive publicity must be done; b) thorough coordination and information must be provided by the respective associations to their members so that cooperation can be achieved; c) continue NSO’s partnership with retail trade associations; d) consultative meeting with the respondents must be done before field operations; e) data for previous years must not be collected to minimize the burden of establishments; f) adopt an electronic questionnaire and facilitate the distribution of questionnaires through the internet; and g) conduct a full blown nationwide survey that will include representative sample establishments in retail sales.

A regular Retail Sales Survey is proposed and planned to ride with the Quarterly Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (QSPBI) in the retail trade sector. With sufficient funding, additional samples will also be included in the current list of QSPBI respondents.

For further inquiries, you may contact/write the Industry and Trade Statistics Department (ITSD) at telephone numbers/e-mail (02) 715-6505/713-7071/E.Deguzman@census.gov.ph, or Business and Services Statistics Division (BSSD) at (02) 716-3931/ K.Esclamad@census.gov.ph or log on at http://www.census.gov.ph.

 

 

CARMELITA N. ERICTA
Administrator

 

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TECHNICAL NOTES

Methodology

The total retail sales collected from the 2002 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) with reference period 2001 was the base data used in the computation of the retail sales index.

The indices were generated by aggregating the gross sales of sample establishments belonging to the same industry group and computing the index using Laspeyre’s formula.

Thus, for the industry group i of major industry j:

	where:
		=		refers to the computed sales index for industry group i at time t
		=		is the aggregated sales report of sample establishments for industry group i at time t (current period)
		=		is the aggregated sales report of sample establishments for industry group i at time 0 (base period = 2001)(current period)

The weights of the sales index of a particular industry group were based on the concentration ratios to the total sale value of the entire retail trade sector. Such weight is computed using the following formula:

	where:
		=		is the relative share of industry group i in the total value of sales in the retail trade sector
		=		is the total sales value of industry group i(current period)
		=		is the total sales value of major sector j

The indices for the major industry j was the sum of the weighted sub-sector indices using the relative shares to the total sales of the industry as the weights, or

	where:
		=		refers to the index for industry j at time t
		=		is the relative share of industry group i in the total sales value of major industry j
		=		is the computed index for industry group i at time t

Concepts and Definition of terms

Establishment is an economic unit, which engages under a single ownership or control, i.e. under a single legal entity, in one, or predominantly one kind of economic activity at a single fixed location.

Retail Trade Establishments refer to those engaged in the retail sale (sale without transformation) of new and used goods to the general public.

Main Product Line refers to the kind of product sold by the establishment that generates the largest gross sales.

Total Employment is the number of persons who worked in or for the establishment as of November 15, 2003.

Total Floor Area refers to the store space including the space of the office and stock room adjacent to or within the store.

Gross Sales refers to the cash received and receivables for goods sold by the establishment including all branches within a year or quarter.

 

(Sgd.) CARMELITA N. ERICTA Administrator