Track retail sales, inventory, labor, earnings, e-commerce share, and category growth on one permanent operating reference page.
About this benchmark
Compare U.S. retail demand, inventory, labor, earnings, and channel movement using published federal data while reading the measures together as operating conditions change. The benchmark tracks relationships across sales growth, inventory growth, inventory-to-sales, employment, weekly earnings, e-commerce share, and category demand rather than treating any single measure as the operating picture. For more information, visit our Retail Profit Recovery page.
Since the last update
−0.4
percentage point in sales growth
May to June 2026
−19.4K
retail employment
June to July 2026
+0.1
percentage point in e-commerce share
Q1 to Q2 2026
Move between retail sales growth, inventory growth, and inventory held against the current sales pace.
Move between retail employment and average weekly earnings to separate workforce scale from current pay pressure.
Move between e-commerce share and the latest category ranking to separate structural channel movement from current category demand.
What the comparison shows
Sales growth is running ahead of inventory growth while retail employment remains close to the same sector scale.
Weekly earnings remain higher, the inventory-to-sales ratio is below its level one year earlier, and e-commerce continues to expand its share of retail activity. The combined reading keeps inventory placement, labor cost, fulfillment, and channel economics central to understanding where retail margin is retained.
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