Total Retail Sales of Consumer Goods refers to the sum of consumer goods sold by the wholesale and retail trades, hotel and catering trades and other sectors to urban and rural residents and social groups.Retail sales of consumer goods sold to residents refers to the commodities sold to urban and rural residents for their daily use.Retail sales of consumer goods sold to social groups refers to the commodities sold to agencies, social groups, military units, schools, enterprises, institutions, urban subdistrict committee and village committee for non-production and non-operation use and purchased by public money of these units.

The Retail Sales of Consumer Goods Includes commodities sold to urban and rural residents for their daily use, building material sold to them for the construction and repair of houses and consumer goods sold to foreigners, overseas Chinese and Chinese compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

The Retail Sales of Consumer Goods excludes commodities sold by trust shops commissioned by urban residents and sold among the urban residents. It also excludes commodities sold to agricultural, industrial, construction and other industries for the production.

Retail Sales of the Cities refers to the retail sales of consumer goods sold by various sectors which are set up at the the urban and rural districts of Municipalities, provincial cities and urban districts of county-level cities.It also includes the retail sales of consumer goods sold by the units which under the direct jurisdiction of city government are distributed at independent industrial and mineral and forestry areas in rural districts and excludes the retail sales of consumer goods of the counties under the cities.

Retail Sales of the Counties refers to the retail sales of consumer goods sold by various sectors which are set up at the urban districts of the counties and the retail sales of consumer goods sold by the units under the direct jurisdiction of county government distributed at independent industrial and mineral and forestry areas in rural districts.

Retail Sales Below the County Level refers to the retail sales of consumer goods sold by various sectors which are set up at the market towns or rural areas outside the urban districts of the counties and county level cities, but it excludes the retail sales of consumer goods sold by the units which are distributed at independent industrial and mineral and forestry areas in rural districts.

Retail Sales of Wholesale and Retail Trades refers to the retail sales of consumer goods sold to residents and social groups by wholesale and retail businesses, industrial activity units and self-employed from various economic types that specialize in business sales of goods.

Retail Sales of Hotels and Catering Services refers to the retail sales of consumer goods sold to residents and social groups as staple food, food, beverages and tobacco and other commodities by the external business hotels and catering enterprises, industrial units and self-employed activities that specialize in the provision of accommodation services, food cooking modulation,including the retail sales of the external business hotel, train dining car, ship restaurant, the airport restaurant of enterprises or units from various sectors,excluding the sales of no external business staff canteens of agencies, organizations, schools, enterprises and institutions.

The Retail Sales of Other Industries refers to the sales of the corporate enterprise, industrial activity units or self-employed which do not belong to the wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering industry, also engaged in retail activities of life consumer goods or providing accommodation services.

Purchase, Sales and Stock of Commodities by Wholesale and  Retail Trades refers to the total volume of commodities purchased, total volume of sales and exports, and the stock of commodities by wholesale and retail enterprises (establishments) of different status of registration from domestic and overseas markets. This indictor reflects the relationship among purchase, sales and stock of commodities in the circulation of goods and reveals the existing problems.

Total Purchases of Commodities refer to the total value of purchases of commodities by the enterprises (establishments) from other establishments or individuals (including direct import from abroad) for the purpose of re selling, either with or without further processing of the commodities purchased. This indicator is used to show the total value of purchases of commodities by wholesale and retail establishments from domestic and overseas markets. The total purchases include: (1) agricultural and industrial products purchased from producers; (2) books, magazines and newspapers purchased from distribution departments of the publishers; (3) commodities purchased from wholesale and retail establishments of different status of registration; (4) commodities purchased from other units, such as surplus materials purchased from government agencies, enterprises or institutions, commodities purchased from catering and service establishments, confiscated goods purchased from customs authorities or market management agencies, second hand goods and wastes purchased from residents; and (5) commodities directly imported from abroad. Excluded are commodities purchased by enterprises (establishments) for use in their own business operation, commodities obtained without buying or selling procedures, rejected commodities, etc.

Total Sales of Commodities refer to value of commodities sold by the establishments to other establishments and individuals (including direct export). This indicator is used to show the total value of sales of commodities at domestic markets and export. The total sales include: (1) commodities sold to urban and rural residents and social groups for their consumption; (2) commodities sold to establishments in industry, agriculture, construction, transportation, post and telecommunications, wholesale and retail trades, catering trade and public utility for their production and operation; (3) commodities sold to wholesale and retail establishments for re selling, with or without further processing;and (4)commodities for direct export to other countries. Excluded are selling of waste packaging materials used by the establishments (units) themselves, commodities transferred without buying or selling procedures, commission income from brokerage in transactions whose settlement is directly handled by buyers and sellers, rejected commodities in the purchase, loss in commodities, etc.

Commodity Stock of Wholesale and Retail Enterprises  refers to total commodities possessed by wholesale and retail enterprises (units) of various types of registration status at the end of the reference period, which reflects the commodity stock level of various wholesale and retail enterprises and the potential for market supply. It includes: (1) commodities located in storage, garages, counters, and shelves of operating units (such as sale stores, wholesale centers, and operating offices) of wholesale and retail enterprises; (2) commodities in the process of selecting, sorting, and packing; (3) commodities not arrived but recorded as purchase in the account, i.e. commodities not arrived but payment receipts for the commodities from the sellers or the banks arrived; (4) commodities deposited in other places rather than places mentioned above, for instance: commodities in the hold of purchasers temporarily due to the refusal of payment and commodities not taken back after going through the formalities; (5) commodities entrusted to other units to sell but not sold yet; (6) commodities purchased for other units but not delivered yet. Commodities not included as stock are those not owned by the enterprises (units), those allocated to financially independent factories rather than wholesale and retail enterprises for processing but not taken back yet, and finally those put in stock by wholesale and retail enterprises on behalf of the state material reserves units.

For the calculation of the value of commodities stock, the value is calculated at purchasing prices in agricultural goods purchasing units and wholesale units, and at the accounting prices in retail units.

Business Revenue of Hotels and Catering Services:  refer to revenue received from providing services or selling commodities by corporate enterprises and establishments engaged in hotel and catering services, including income from hotel rooms, from catering services, from selling of commodities and from other services. Income from hotel rooms refers to income of corporate enterprises and establishments by providing lodging services. Income from catering services refers to income of corporate enterprises and establishments by providing catering services, including selling of cooked or prepared foods such as stable food, cooked dishes or cold dishes. Income from selling of commodities refers to income of corporate enterprises and establishments by selling commodities that accompany the services they provide. Income from other activities refers to income received other than income from hotel rooms, catering services or selling of commodities, such as income from providing recreation, fitness or business services.

Volume of Transaction at Large Commodity Markets (with transaction value over 100 million yuan) refers to markets approved by the industrial and commercial administration departments, which specialize in wholesale and

retail of commodities with an annual transaction of over 100 million yuan. The sum of sales of all sellers in the markets makes up the transaction value of the markets.

Chain Enterprises (also called chain stores or chain corporations) refer to a form of joint economic entities under which scattered enterprises or establishments engaged in providing homogeneous commodities or services, with the central leadership of core enterprise or headquarters and guided by common policies, conduct centralized purchase and distributed selling of commodities, in order to gain better efficiency through standardized operation. Consisting of a number of branch stores, the chain stores have in general following features: 1) homogeneous commodities, 2) unique name of stores, 3) centralized purchase and delivery which is separated from distributed selling operation (most commodities are delivered from the headquarters except some items which, from logistics, quality or freshness considerations, might be delivered by the suppliers directly).

Chain stores have 3 categories:

a) Chain stores under direct management: These are formal chain stores invested or controlled by the headquarters. They operate under the direct and unified management from the headquarters. Adopting a direct management approach, the headquarters give orders and control all retail stores, which follow completely the directives from the headquarters. Large monopolized commercial companies develop and expand their business through purchasing, merging, direct investment and controlling of shares.

b) Chain stores through special permit: Through contracts, chain stores (or their owners) obtain licenses from the headquarters to use designated trade marks, names, operation know how, and to sell the commodity developed by the headquarters. Under this arrangement, each store in the chain is an independent legal entity and operates under the guidance from the headquarters.

c) Chain stores through voluntary arrangement: Under this arrangement, all stores operate together under the guidance of the headquarters, while maintaining their status of independent legal entities with full ownership of their assets. They use the same store name, sign contracts with the headquarters concerning purchase, sale, publicity, etc. and operate under the contract. They are free to engage in other activities which are not bounded in the contract. They could join or leave the chain on voluntary basis.

Chain stores through special permit and those through voluntary arrangement make up chain stores through license arrangement.