Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
The index of wholesale and retaile sales describes developments in values and volumes in the wholesale and retail sales.
3.2. Classification system
NACE Rev. 2.
3.3. Coverage - sector
The index covers Section G of NACE Rev. 2, with the exception of G461
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Retail sales:
Retail sales consist of enterprises involved in the sale of new and used goods to private households. The sale is executed from either a fixed or moveable sales outlet, a market place or via the Internet or mail order. Examples of retail sales are the sale of food, beverages, clothing, shoes, domestic electrical appliances, furniture, building equipment and so on.
Turnover:
Turnover includes dutiable and duty-free sales income from goods and services as well as rents, commission fees and royalties. Financial revenues and VAT are not included.
3.5. Statistical unit
Reporting unit:
The reporting unit is the local KAU (Kind-of-activity-unit).
Observation unit:
The observation unit is the local KAU (Kind-of-activity-unit).
3.6. Statistical population
All establishments in wholesale and retail trade (SN2007: G.), with the exception of G461
3.7. Reference area
The geographical area covered is national level only; Norway.
3.8. Coverage - Time
The retail trade part of the index (G47) has been published since 1936. From 1995 to 2009 the index was published with a breakdown by activity according to NACE Rev. 1. Data for 1972-94 was recalculated applying the same breakdown. Since 2009 the index has been published with a breakdown by activity according to NACE Rev. 2. Data for 2005-2009 have been backcasted applying the same breakdown.
The statistics was expanded in 2021 to also cover G45 and G46. Historical data back to 2015 has been estimated by disaggregating VAT turnover data.
3.9. Base period
Base year: 2021
Reference period: Month
Reference year: 2021 = 100.
The same base and reference periods are released nationally.
Index.
Month.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Legal basis:
Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (EBS-Regulation)
Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistic (General Implementing Act)
Obligation on units to provide data:
Mandatory according to The Statistics Act. Failure to respond is subject to fines.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
STS data from the Norwegian retail sales index are transmitted to Eurostat on a regular monthly basis.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced, including confidentiality of individual responses:
Information about how the statistics are produced as About the statistics website. This applies, among other things, to information about collection methods, explanation of terms and information about sources of errors.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Data are only published down to an activity level at which they are not confidential.
8.1. Release calendar
The publication schedule is available in Statistics Norway's Advance Release Calendar. See: Upcoming releases from Statistics Norway (SSB). Dates are preannounced a minimum of three months in advance.
The retail trade index is published in Dagens Statistikk of Statistics Norway. Main results are also disseminated through other publications of Statistics Norway, including the Statistical Yearbook and the Economic outlook survey.
All released data are available in Statistics Norway's online database StatBank.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
There is no micro-data access.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Data are transmitted to Eurostat.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Documentation on methodology and sources used in preparing statistics are published on the internet at: Index of wholesale and retail sales. See the section called "About the statistics".
Prior to the statistical compilation arithmetic and logical control routines check the responses for error and lack of internal consistency.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
The index of wholesale and retail sales is a high-quality statistic. Full coverage of many large chain-stores, as well as a random sample from the remaining population of reporting units allows for good estimates to be calculated.
Since the index of wholesale and retail sales is calculated based on a random sample, some potential errors are inherent to the method. First, there is always a possibility of non-response. To monitor this, we calculate the non-response rate, and weighted non-response rate. Second, random sampling can lead to sampling errors. To understand the impact of this we calculate the coefficient of variance for the turnover estimates. All of the mentioned indicators are kept within reasonable limits.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Users include public and private sector agencies and organisations. Statistics Norway's national accounts statistics rely on timely production of the retail sales index. Other users include Statistics Norway's research department.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
The retail sales index is viewed as an important short term indicator. The statistics is widely used by professional users and is often cited in the media.
12.3. Completeness
All Eurostat's STS requirements are fulfilled.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The accuracy of the index is deemed to be good.
Sampling error is low (see section 13.2).
Non-sampling error is also low (see section 13.3).
13.2. Sampling error
The coefficient of variation has been calculated for the total turnover estimate for each month in 2024. The resulting coefficient of variation for each month, given as a percentage, are reported in the table below.
Coefficient of variation for NACE G47 for 2024:
Month:
Coefficient of variation, %
January
0.82
February
0.73
March
0.66
April
0.66
May
0.75
June
0.72
July
0.75
August
0.72
September
0.77
October
0.73
November
0.81
December
0.90
13.3. Non-sampling error
Actions to speed up or increase the rate of response:
Major non-respondents are contacted prior to publication of final results to obtain response.
Non-response rate for G:
Turnover has been used for weighting the non-response rates of 2024.
Month:
Non-response rate
Weighted non-response rate
January
1.7%
0.8%
February
2.7%
3.8%
March
2.5%
2.4%
April
2.1%
2.8%
May
1.6%
2.7%
June
2.6%
2.6%
July
1.2%
0.6%
August
2.2%
0.9%
September
1.1%
1.7%
October
1.1%
0.2%
November
2.9%
6.2%
December
2.4%
1.4%
AVERAGE
2.0%
2.2%
14.1. Timeliness
Timelines:
The statistics for a given month are usually published between 28 and 30 days after the end of that month.
Timetable of data collection: The respondents normally receive the questionnaire before the end of the reference month. The deadline for response is fixed within the 12th day of the following month.
14.2. Punctuality
All releases are published according to the release calendar.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
There are no geographical considerations. The figures are published on national level.
15.2. Comparability - over time
The retail part of the index (G47) has been published since 1936. A new version of Norwegian industry classification (SIC2007) was implemented from January 2009. The G47 index, as well as three-digit sector levels, has been recalculated back to 2000 according to SIC2007. In January 2003, Statistics Norway altered the calculation method for the price index of retail sales. The new method is based on the price development of product groups from the consumer price index, as well as on sector-wise product allocation. The product allocation comes from a survey with that particular focus. The price index of retail sales is calculated using the same methods used to calculate the deflator of the retail sales component in the index of household consumption of goods. Volume figures have been calculated back to August 1999 using the current deflator. The volume indices at NACE four-digit sector level are calculated by deflating value indices using the aid of the price index for retail sales. From January 2002, volume indices at NACE two and three-digit sector level are calculated as a weighted sum of the volume indices at NACE four-digit sector level with value shares in the reference year as weight. In the past, volume indices at the NACE two and three-digit sector level were calculated using immediate deflation of value indices.
The statistics was expanded in 2021 to also cover G45 and G46. Historical data back to 2015 has been estimated by disaggregating VAT turnover data.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Coherence with other statistics:
The index of household consumption of goods is published at the same time as the index of wholesale and retail sales. The former is more extensive than the latter, which can lead to different developments in the two indices. Price indices of retail sales are applied when calculating the volume indices of the retail sales. Changes in turnover are later compared with bimonthly retail sales statistics, which are based on the VAT register.
Confrontation with other data sets:
As part of the compilation routine the comparison of results with other data sources is carried out, mainly the bimonthly wholesale and retail trade statistics.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The statistic is internaly coherent.
It is estimated that the random sample part of the statistics, which includes roughly 3000 units, represents a burden of 6000 hours per year for the respondents.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Published figures are final and no preliminary figures are released. Revised /corrected figures are only published in case of errors.
Revised numbers are published simultaneously with a scheduled release of new monthly indices. The revisions are annonced simultaneously with the release.
The same revision policy is applied nationally and in the transmission to Eurostat.
17.2. Data revision - practice
Revised numbers are published simultaneously with a scheduled release of new monthly indices. The revisions are annonced simultaneously with the release.
Estimations of MR, MAR and RMAR are based on data from January 2022 to December 2024. For Calendar- and unadjusted indices year-on-year growth rates have been used in the calculations. For Seasonally adjusted indices period-on-period growth have been used. All MR, MAR and RMAR estimations are for the total of G47.
MR
MAR
RMAR
TOVV unadjusted
0.00
0.05
0.01
TOVV calendar adjusted
-0.14
0.40
0.13
TOVV seasonally adjusted
-0.09
0.42
0.41
TOVT unadjusted
0.00
0.06
0.02
TOVT calendar adjusted
0.12
0.31
0.11
18.1. Source data
Type of source:
Combination of statistical surveys and administrative sources.
Frame on which the source is based:
Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises.
Sample or census:
Sample survey. The sample is adjusted regularly to ensure a reasonable geographical coverage. Adjustment of the sample ensures that updated information from the annual survey of the retail trade activity and from the bimonthly VAT registrations are incorporated. According to the VAT register, the adjustments focus on diverging trends of the turnover of the sample and the turnover measured by a survey of the VAT register. In 1997 the sample was adjusted to take into account the variation of strata variances.
Once a year, in January, a part of the sample is substituted with new units from the VAT register. The local KAUs are retained in the sample for a maximum of four years, except for units deemed to be vital to the statistics, which can be included in the sample for as long as needed.
Criteria for stratification:
The sample is stratified according to the size of the local KAUs, in other words according to the number of employees. The largest units are usually included in the sample. Other units are selected from their respective strata by random sampling.
Threshold values and percentages:
A sample of about 18,200 units is selected from the population (local KAUs) in the VAT register. This includes a sub-sample of 15,200 chain-stores with direct reporting from their respective head-offices. Another sub-sample of 3,000 units is selected from other existing local KAUs, in other words independent shops and the remaining chain stores not yet included in the sample above. Including the sub-sample of chain-stores overall coverage for G47 exceeds 80% of the population. This represents Roughly a quarter of all units in the G47 part of the population. In terms of Sample variance accounted for by the sample of non-chain stores is estimated to about 1 percent for G47.
Frequency of updating the sample:
Once a year, in January, a part of the sample is substituted with new units from the VAT register. The local KAUs are retained in the sample for a maximum of four years, except for units deemed to be vital to the statistics, which can be included in the sample for as long as needed.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Monthly.
18.3. Data collection
Questionnaires used in the survey:
The questionnaire covers the value of retail sale.
Data collection media:
Questionnaires are submitted by post, on the internet or by other electronic means. If necessary, the respondents are supported by telephone contact.
18.4. Data validation
The reported turnover is compared to relevant VAT data to validate the authenticity of the data. If the unit has been bart of the sample for several periods we will also compare the reported turnover to historically reported figures. If necessary, units are re-contacted to verify their reported figures.
18.5. Data compilation
Estimates for non-response:
When the final results are published non-respondents normally amount to some 4% of the sample.
Estimates for grossing-up to population levels:
A ratio estimator is applied to each stratum to expand sample results to represent the total population.
Type of index:
Index of turnover, gross data. Index of deflated turnover, gross data. Index of deflated turnover, seasonally adjusted data.
Method of weighting and chaining:
Since the index of turnover is a simple value index, no weights are used.
For the indices of deflated turnover, the weights used are value shares from Statistics Norway's yearly Business Statistics for the base year 2021.
The volume indices at NACE four-digit sector level are calculated by deflating value indices using the aid of the price index for retail sales.
At NACE two and three-digit sector level the volume indices are calculated as a weighted sum of the volume indices at NACE four-digit sector level with the weights from Statistics Norway's yearly Business Statistics.
18.6. Adjustment
The index of deflated turnover is adjusted for seasonal variations applying the X12ARIMA method with direct seasonal adjustment, non-fixed seasonal effects, a multiplicative model and pre-correction for working days and Easter effects.
When it comes to the pre-correction for Easter effects, Statistics Norway has developed a method for distinctive Norwegian conditions that are not covered in the X12ARIMA package. For more information go to Index of wholesale and retail sales, under the section "About the statistics", you will find a sub-section named "About seasonal adjustment".
No further comment.
The index of wholesale and retaile sales describes developments in values and volumes in the wholesale and retail sales.
26 May 2025
Retail sales:
Retail sales consist of enterprises involved in the sale of new and used goods to private households. The sale is executed from either a fixed or moveable sales outlet, a market place or via the Internet or mail order. Examples of retail sales are the sale of food, beverages, clothing, shoes, domestic electrical appliances, furniture, building equipment and so on.
Turnover:
Turnover includes dutiable and duty-free sales income from goods and services as well as rents, commission fees and royalties. Financial revenues and VAT are not included.
Reporting unit:
The reporting unit is the local KAU (Kind-of-activity-unit).
Observation unit:
The observation unit is the local KAU (Kind-of-activity-unit).
All establishments in wholesale and retail trade (SN2007: G.), with the exception of G461
The geographical area covered is national level only; Norway.
Month.
The accuracy of the index is deemed to be good.
Sampling error is low (see section 13.2).
Non-sampling error is also low (see section 13.3).
Index.
Estimates for non-response:
When the final results are published non-respondents normally amount to some 4% of the sample.
Estimates for grossing-up to population levels:
A ratio estimator is applied to each stratum to expand sample results to represent the total population.
Type of index:
Index of turnover, gross data. Index of deflated turnover, gross data. Index of deflated turnover, seasonally adjusted data.
Method of weighting and chaining:
Since the index of turnover is a simple value index, no weights are used.
For the indices of deflated turnover, the weights used are value shares from Statistics Norway's yearly Business Statistics for the base year 2021.
The volume indices at NACE four-digit sector level are calculated by deflating value indices using the aid of the price index for retail sales.
At NACE two and three-digit sector level the volume indices are calculated as a weighted sum of the volume indices at NACE four-digit sector level with the weights from Statistics Norway's yearly Business Statistics.
Type of source:
Combination of statistical surveys and administrative sources.
Frame on which the source is based:
Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises.
Sample or census:
Sample survey. The sample is adjusted regularly to ensure a reasonable geographical coverage. Adjustment of the sample ensures that updated information from the annual survey of the retail trade activity and from the bimonthly VAT registrations are incorporated. According to the VAT register, the adjustments focus on diverging trends of the turnover of the sample and the turnover measured by a survey of the VAT register. In 1997 the sample was adjusted to take into account the variation of strata variances.
Once a year, in January, a part of the sample is substituted with new units from the VAT register. The local KAUs are retained in the sample for a maximum of four years, except for units deemed to be vital to the statistics, which can be included in the sample for as long as needed.
Criteria for stratification:
The sample is stratified according to the size of the local KAUs, in other words according to the number of employees. The largest units are usually included in the sample. Other units are selected from their respective strata by random sampling.
Threshold values and percentages:
A sample of about 18,200 units is selected from the population (local KAUs) in the VAT register. This includes a sub-sample of 15,200 chain-stores with direct reporting from their respective head-offices. Another sub-sample of 3,000 units is selected from other existing local KAUs, in other words independent shops and the remaining chain stores not yet included in the sample above. Including the sub-sample of chain-stores overall coverage for G47 exceeds 80% of the population. This represents Roughly a quarter of all units in the G47 part of the population. In terms of Sample variance accounted for by the sample of non-chain stores is estimated to about 1 percent for G47.
Frequency of updating the sample:
Once a year, in January, a part of the sample is substituted with new units from the VAT register. The local KAUs are retained in the sample for a maximum of four years, except for units deemed to be vital to the statistics, which can be included in the sample for as long as needed.
Monthly.
Timelines:
The statistics for a given month are usually published between 28 and 30 days after the end of that month.
Timetable of data collection: The respondents normally receive the questionnaire before the end of the reference month. The deadline for response is fixed within the 12th day of the following month.
There are no geographical considerations. The figures are published on national level.
The retail part of the index (G47) has been published since 1936. A new version of Norwegian industry classification (SIC2007) was implemented from January 2009. The G47 index, as well as three-digit sector levels, has been recalculated back to 2000 according to SIC2007. In January 2003, Statistics Norway altered the calculation method for the price index of retail sales. The new method is based on the price development of product groups from the consumer price index, as well as on sector-wise product allocation. The product allocation comes from a survey with that particular focus. The price index of retail sales is calculated using the same methods used to calculate the deflator of the retail sales component in the index of household consumption of goods. Volume figures have been calculated back to August 1999 using the current deflator. The volume indices at NACE four-digit sector level are calculated by deflating value indices using the aid of the price index for retail sales. From January 2002, volume indices at NACE two and three-digit sector level are calculated as a weighted sum of the volume indices at NACE four-digit sector level with value shares in the reference year as weight. In the past, volume indices at the NACE two and three-digit sector level were calculated using immediate deflation of value indices.
The statistics was expanded in 2021 to also cover G45 and G46. Historical data back to 2015 has been estimated by disaggregating VAT turnover data.
