¿what is the monthly retail trade sample?
It is a continuous study that measures the evolution of retail trade in the country. for purposes of this study, commercial activities carried out by pawnshops, telemarketing, lottery sales points, mobile points of sale, and households with economic activity are excluded. maintenance and repair activities associated with trade are not included either.

What does the survey study?
Sales, inventories, average employment, salaries and social security payments.

What are the basic definitions for the survey?

Trade is defined as : “the resale (purchase or sale without transformation) of new goods or products, whether at retail or wholesale. it includes the activities of brokers, agents, auctioneers, and commission agents dedicated to the purchase and sale of goods on behalf of third parties”.

Retail trade is defined as: “the resale (purchase or sale without transformation) of new goods or products, for personal or household use or (end consumer). the commercial activities carried out by pawnshops, telemarketing, lottery sales points, mobile points of sale, and households with economic activity are excluded. maintenance and repair activities associated with trade are not included either.

Company:For purposes of economic statistics, a company is the owning or managing economic unit or combination of economic units, which, under a sole legal name, includes, controls, and directs, whether directly or indirectly, all of the functions and activities necessary for the development of the corporate purpose for which it was created.

Isic rev.3 activity: Establishes a structure which serves to present the statistics related to the economic activities of the country’s different productive sectors. the term “activity” used in this context refers to a productive process, that is, a combination of actions that lead to the production of a given set of goods and services.

What sources are studied in the survey?
trade companies with sales greater than 1,210 million pesos, and/or that had 20 or more persons employed in 1997.

How are the results of the monthly trade sample presented?
The information is presented through variations in index numbers; no absolute values are presented. the variations are: annual, accumulated year-to-date, and accumulated annual.

Index information is available in physical format in the data bank (lists).
the information on variations is available on the internet and in the monthly press bulletin.

What is the observation unit?
The company.

What geographic areas are covered?
The national total. there is no other geographic disaggregation (departmental, regional, etc).

What type of information is available?
*nominal and real sales indexes and variations (total, by homogeneous groups of goods and by isic commercial activity).
*Employment indexes and variations (total and by contract modality).
*Average wages and salaries indexes and variations (total)

What information is published on the internet?
The variables studied (sales, employment, and average wages and salaries) for the period of reference in terms of their annual, accumulated year-to-date, and accumulated annual variations

Is the historical information of the monthly retail trade sample available?
it is available in from 1989 until 2003 in the data bank, in physical format. the splicing for the two methodologies (base sample 1989=100 and base sample 1999=100), is built for totals (sales and employment).

How is the data for the monthly retail trade sample collected?
The collection instrument is a form that the company must fill out, with the assistance of a dane officer, in case the company so requires.

What is the main limitation of this study?
The geographic scope: coverage needs to be expanded (budget limitations)
The thematic scope: coverage needs to be expanded (budget limitations)

How is the information published?
In the monthly press bulletin, the statistics bulletin, in cd or diskette format and in printed format, available at the data bank. it can also be consulted on the website: www.dane.gov.co