This Chapter has been extracted from the ONS Explanatory Notes and provides a more detailed explanation of possible activities that could fall within the SIC Codes related to the Chapter.
This division includes the resale (sale without transformation) of new and used goods mainly to the
general public for personal or household consumption or utilisation, by shops, department stores, stalls,
mail-order houses, door-to-door sales persons, hawkers, consumer cooperatives etc.
Retail trade is classified first by type of sale outlet (retail trade in stores: groups 47.1 to 47.7; retail trade
not in stores: groups 47.8 and 47.9). Retail trade in stores includes the retail sale of used goods (class
47.79). For retail sale in stores, there exists a further distinction between specialised retail sale (groups
47.2 to 47.7) and non-specialised retail sale (group 47.1). The above groups are further subdivided by the
range of products sold. Sale not via stores is subdivided according to the forms of trade, such as retail
sale via stalls and markets (group 47.8) and other non-store retail sale, e.g. mail order, door-to-door, by
vending machines etc. (group 47.9).
The goods sold in this division are limited to goods usually referred to as consumer goods or retail goods.
Therefore goods not normally entering the retail trade, such as cereal grains, ores, industrial machinery
etc. are excluded. This division also includes units engaged primarily in selling to the general public, from
displayed merchandise, products such as personal computers, stationery, paint or timber, although these
products may not be for personal or household use. Handling that is customary in trade does not affect
the basic character of the merchandise and may include, for example, sorting, separating, mixing and
packaging.
This division also includes retail sale by commission agents and activities of retail auctioning houses.
This division excludes:
- sale of farmers' products by farmers, see division 01
- manufacture and sale of goods, which is generally classified as manufacturing in divisions 10-32
- sale of motor vehicles, motorcycles and their parts, see division 45
- trade in cereal grains, ores, crude petroleum, industrial chemicals, iron and steel and industrial
machinery and equipment, see division 46
- sale of food and drinks for consumption on the premises and sale of takeaway food, see division 56
- renting of personal and household goods to the general public, see group 77.2
47.1 Retail sale in non-specialised stores
This group includes the retail sale of a variety of product lines in the same unit (non-specialised stores),such as supermarkets or department stores.
47.11 Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
This class includes:- retail sale of a large variety of goods of which, however, food products, beverages or tobacco should be
predominant:
• activities of general stores that have, apart from their main sales of food products, beverages or
tobacco, several other lines of merchandise such as wearing apparel, furniture, appliances, hardware,
cosmetics etc.
47.19 Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
47.1 Retail sale in non-specialised stores
This group includes the retail sale of a variety of product lines in the same unit (non-specialised stores),such as supermarkets or department stores.
47.11 Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
This class includes:- retail sale of a large variety of goods of which, however, food products, beverages or tobacco should be
predominant:
• activities of general stores that have, apart from their main sales of food products, beverages or
tobacco, several other lines of merchandise such as wearing apparel, furniture, appliances, hardware,
cosmetics etc.
47.19 Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
This class includes:
- retail sale of a large variety of goods of which food products, beverages or tobacco are not predominant
- activities of department stores carrying a general line of merchandise, including wearing apparel,
furniture, appliances, hardware, cosmetics, jewellery, toys, sports goods etc.
47.2 Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores
47.21 Retail sale of fruit and vegetables in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of fresh fruit and vegetables
- retail sale of prepared and preserved fruits and vegetables
47.22 Retail sale of meat and meat products in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of meat and meat products (including poultry)
47.23 Retail sale of fish, crustaceans and molluscs in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of fish, other seafood and products thereof
47.24 Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery in specialised stores
47.25 Retail sale of beverages in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of beverages (not for consumption on the premises):
• alcoholic beverages
• non-alcoholic beverages
47.26 Retail sale of tobacco products in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of tobacco
- retail sale of tobacco products
47.29 Other retail sale of food in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of dairy products and eggs
- retail sale of other food products n.e.c.
47.3 Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores
47.30 Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of fuel for motor vehicles and motorcycles
This class also includes:
- retail sale of lubricating products and cooling products for motor vehicles
This class excludes:
- wholesale of fuels, see 46.71
- retail sale of liquefied petroleum gas for cooking or heating, see 47.78
47.4 Retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores
This group includes the retail sale of information and communications technology (ICT) equipment, such ascomputers and peripheral equipment, telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics, by specialised stores.
47.41 Retail sale of computers, peripheral units and software in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of computers
- retail sale of computer peripheral equipment
- retail sale of video game consoles
- retail sale of non-customised software, including video games
This class excludes:
- retail sale of blank tapes and disks, see 47.63
47.42 Retail sale of telecommunications equipment in specialised stores
47.42/1 Retail sale of mobile telephones in specialised stores
This subclass includes:
- specialised retail sale of mobile telephones
- specialised retail sale of mobile phones for motor vehicles
- installation of mobile phones in motor vehicles
This subclass excludes:
- mobile telephone services see 61
- paging services see 61
47.42/9 Retail sale of telecommunications equipment (other than mobile telephones) n.e.c., in specialised stores
47.43 Retail sale of audio and video equipment in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of radio and television equipment
- retail sale of audio and video equipment
- retail sale of CD, DVD etc. players and recorders
47.5 Retail sale of other household equipment in specialised stores
This group includes the retail sale of household equipment, such as textiles, hardware, carpets, electricalappliances or furniture, in specialised stores.
47.51 Retail sale of textiles in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of fabrics
- retail sale of knitting yarn
- retail sale of basic materials for rug, tapestry or embroidery making
- retail sale of textiles
- retail sale of haberdashery: needles, sewing thread etc.
This class excludes:
- retail sale of clothing, see 47.71
47.52 Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of hardware
- retail sale of paints, varnishes and lacquers
- retail sale of flat glass
- retail sale of other building material such as bricks, wood, sanitary equipment
- retail sale of do-it-yourself material and equipment
This class also includes:
- retail sale of lawnmowers, however operated
- retail sale of saunas
47.53 Retail sale of carpets, rugs, wall and floor coverings in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of carpets and rugs
- retail sale of curtains and net curtains
- retail sale of wallpaper and floor coverings
This class excludes:
- retail sale of cork floor tiles, see 47.52
47.54 Retail sale of electrical household appliances in specialised stores
This class excludes:- retail sale of audio and video equipment, see 47.43
47.59 Retail sale of furniture, lighting equipment and other household articles in specialised stores
47.59/1 Retail sale of musical instruments and scores in specialised stores
47.59/9 Retail sale of furniture, lighting equipment and other household articles (other than musical instruments) n.e.c., in specialised stores
This class includes:
- retail sale of household furniture
- retail sale of articles for lighting
- retail sale of household utensils and cutlery, crockery, glassware, china and pottery
- retail sale of wooden, cork and wickerwork goods
- retail sale of non-electrical household appliances
- retail sale of electrical security alarm systems, such as locking devices, safes, and vaults, without installation or maintenance services
- retail sale of household articles and equipment n.e.c.
This class excludes:
- retail sale of antiques, see 47.79
47.6 Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores
This group includes the retail sale in specialised stores of cultural and recreation goods, such as books,newspapers, music and video recordings, sporting equipment, games and toys.
47.61 Retail sale of books in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of books of all kinds
This class excludes:
- retail sale of second-hand or antique books, see 47.79
47.62 Retail sale of newspapers and stationery in specialised stores
This class also includes:- retail sale of office supplies such as pens, pencils, paper etc.
47.63 Retail sale of music and video recordings in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of musical records, audio tapes, compact discs and cassettes
- retail sale of video tapes and DVDs
This class also includes:
- retail sale of blank tapes and discs
47.64 Retail sale of sporting equipment in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of sports goods, fishing gear, camping goods, boats and bicycles
47.65 Retail sale of games and toys in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of games and toys, made of all materials
This class excludes:
- retail sale of video game consoles, see 47.41
- retail sale of non-customised software, including video games, see 47.41
47.7 Retail sale of other goods in specialised stores
This group includes sale in specialised stores carrying a particular line of products not included inother parts of the classification, such as clothing, footwear and leather articles, pharmaceutical and
medical goods, watches, souvenirs, cleaning materials, weapons, flowers and pets and others. Also
included is the retail sale of used goods in specialised stores.
47.71 Retail sale of clothing in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of articles of clothing
- retail sale of articles of fur
- retail sale of clothing accessories such as gloves, ties, braces etc.
This class excludes:
- retail sale of textiles, see 47.51
47.72 Retail sale of footwear and leather goods in specialised stores
47.72/1 Retail sale of footwear in specialised stores
This subclass excludes:
- retail sale of special sports equipment footwear such as ski boots, see 47.64
47.72/2 Retail sale of leather goods in specialised stores
This class includes:
- retail sale of leather goods
- retail sale of travel accessories of leather and leather substitutes
47.73 Dispensing chemist in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of pharmaceuticals
47.74 Retail sale of medical and orthopaedic goods in specialised stores
47.74/1 Retail sale of hearing aids in specialised stores
47.74/9 Retail sale of medical and orthopaedic goods (other than hearing aids) n.e.c., in specialised stores
47.75 Retail sale of cosmetic and toilet articles in specialised stores
This class includes:- retail sale of perfumery, cosmetic and toilet articles
47.76 Retail sale of flowers, plants, seeds, fertilisers, pet animals and pet food in specialised stores
47.77 Retail sale of watches and jewellery in specialised stores
47.78 Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores
47.78/1 Retail sale in commercial art galleries
This subclass includes:
- activities of commercial art galleries
47.78/2 Retail sale by opticians
This subclass includes:
- specialised retail sale of spectacles, contact lenses, etc. by:
dispensing opticians
optometrists
opthalmic opticians, etc.
47.78/9 Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than by opticians or commercial art galleries), n.e.c.
This subclass includes:
- retail sale of photographic, optical and precision equipment
- retail sale of souvenirs, craftwork and religious articles
- retail sale of household fuel oil, bottled gas, coal and fuel wood
- retail sale of weapons and ammunition
- retail sale of stamps and coins
- retail sale of non-food products n.e.c.
47.79 Retail sale of second-hand goods in stores
47.79/1 Retail sale of antiques including antique books, in stores
This subclass includes:
- retail sale of antiques
- retail sale of antique books
- activities of auctioning houses (retail)
This subclass excludes:
- activities of Internet auctions and other non-store auctions (retail), see 47.91, 47.99
47.79/9 Retail sale of second-hand goods (other than antiques and antique books) in stores
This subclass includes:
- retail sale of second-hand books
- retail sale of other second-hand goods
- activities of auctioning houses (retail)
This subclass excludes:
- retail sale of second-hand motor vehicles, see 45.1
- activities of Internet auctions and other non-store auctions (retail), see 47.91, 47.99
- activities of pawn shops and pawnbrokers where the principal activity is lending money, see 64.92
47.8 Retail sale via stalls and markets
This group includes the retail sale of any kind of new or second-hand product in a usually movable stalleither along a public road or at a fixed marketplace.
47.81 Retail sale via stalls and markets of food, beverages and tobacco products
This class excludes:- retail sale of prepared food for immediate consumption (mobile food vendors), see 56.10
47.82 Retail sale via stalls and markets of textiles, clothing and footwear
47.89 Retail sale via stalls and markets of other goods
This class includes:- retail sale of other goods via stalls or markets, such as:
• carpets and rugs
• books
• games and toys
• household appliances and consumer electronics
• music and video recordings
47.9 Retail trade not in stores, stalls or markets
This group includes retail sale activities by mail order houses, over the Internet, through door-to-doorsales, vending machines etc..
47.91 Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
This class includes retail sale activities via mail order houses or via Internet, i.e. retail sale activities where the buyer makes his choice on the basis of advertisements, catalogues, information provided on a website, models or any other means of advertising and places his order by mail, phone or over the Internet (usually through special means provided by a website). The products purchased can be either directly downloaded from the Internet or physically delivered to the customer.This class includes:
- retail sale of any kind of product by mail order
- retail sale of any kind of product over the Internet
This class also includes:
- direct sale via television, radio and telephone
- Internet retail auctions
This class excludes:
- retail sale of motor vehicles and motor vehicles parts and accessories over the Internet, see groups
45.1, 45.3
- retail sale of motorcycles and motorcycles parts and accessories over the Internet, see 45.40
47.99 Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
This class includes:- retail sale of any kind of product in any way that is not included in previous classes:
• by direct sales or door-to-door sales persons
• through vending machines etc.
- direct selling of fuel (heating oil, firewood, etc.), delivered to the customers premises
- activities of non-store auctions (retail, except Internet)
- retail sale by (non-store) commission agents
For all queries related to this Chapter or any other aspect of SIC Codes, please contact the Office of National Statistics on 01329 444970 or email classifications.helpdesk@ons.gov.uk.