10 BULLETIN 1442, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
METHODS OF ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF DATA 
Straight meat markets, whose restaurant and other wholesale 
trade amounted to 30 per cent or less of their total business, were 
classified as retail markets, since they were dependent to a large 
extent upon their retail operations for their volumes of business. 
As a matter of fact, very few stores whose volumes of restaurant or 
wholesale sales were greater than 15 per cent of total business were 
included in the retail group. 
An examination of the gross margins and operating expenses indi- 
cated that stores whose restaurant or wholesale trade amounted to 
not more than 30 per cent of their total business showed very little 
variation from stores reporting a much smaller percentage of whole- 
sale business. The proportions of wholesale and retail business were 
proprietors' estimates, so that in deciding upon the validity of these 
estimates, expense, together with gross margin, was of significance 
in locating errors in the estimates. 
The major portion of the data was obtained from stores of the 
individual straight meat-market type. In so far as possible, figures 
were obtained from stores of other types such as combination stores 
and chain stores operating in the areas of study. No special effort 
was made to gather together a body of chain-store data other than 
from chain stores operating in the 16 cities where the cost study was 
carried on. The data collected, therefore, were largely from in- 
dividual retail meat establishments. This being the case, the analysis 
was concerned primarily with individual retail straight meat mar- 
kets. Whenever possible, however, comparisons between stores of 
this type and other types are made. 
Analysis of the individual retail meat-market data was directed 
along five general lines: (1) Determination of the elements of cost 
and their relative importance in the expense of conducting a retail 
meat establishment, (2) effect of volume on operating costs, (3) 
separation of the markets according to classes of service rendered 
and the resulting variations in cost, (4) determination of the differ- 
ences in operating expense between various sections of the coun- 
try, (5) discovery of any factors or conditions within the market 
which influenced profits. 
For the purpose of analysis, the individual retail meat markets 
were divided into three classifications: (1) Carry stores, (2) lim- 
ited-delivery stores, and (3) unlimited- delivery stores. In the carry 
group the stores were predominantly cash-and-carry, so that this 
group may be regarded as a cash-and-carry group. The delivery 
group was subdivided into two classifications which were based on 
the type of delivery service rendered. On the basis of classifica- 
tion, the limited-delivery group might well have been called a 
limited-service group, and the unlimited-delivery group might have 
been called an unlimited-service group. 
The limited-delivery subdivision was made because stores falling 
within this classification were not predominantly service stores. Ex- 
tension of credit by these markets was limited, in most instances, and 
the delivery service rendered was confined to deliveries made through 
the medium of a contract delivery or a central-delivery system. 
Under no basis of classification could they have been considered as 
belonging to the general group of unlimited service stores. 
