U.S. Retail Sales Performance Analysis & Business Insights
Explore a detailed data analytics report on U.S. retail sales (2021-2024), featuring category profitability, regional KPIs, and strategic growth recommendations.
DATA ANALYTICS
ADM1370 | WINTER 2026 | ASSIGNMENT 02
U.S. Retail Sales
Performance Analysis & Business Insights
Group 7
Kareem Abu-Dalfa | Ryan Kronwald
Dataset: U.S. Multi-Year Retail Transactions
Agenda
What We'll Cover Today
Company Overview
Best & Worst Products
Sales & Profit Trends
Customer Segments
Regional Performance
Key KPIs
Product Profitability Trend
Dashboard Presentation
Conclusions & Recommendations
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.1
Company Overview & Current Offerings
A multi-year U.S. retail business operating across all 4 major regions — East, West, Central, and South — serving Consumer, Corporate, and Home Office customer segments.
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3 Product Categories: Furniture, Office Supplies, Technology
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~10,000 Orders across 4 years (2021–2024)
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49 States served across the United States
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3 Customer Segments: Consumer, Corporate, Home Office
FURNITURE
Bookcases, Chairs, Tables, Furnishings
OFFICE SUPPLIES
Binders, Paper, Storage, Art, Envelopes, Labels, Fasteners
TECHNOLOGY
Phones, Accessories, Machines, Copiers
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.2
Best & Worst Performing Products
🏆 Top Performers
⚠️ Worst Performers
Technology leads in top profit earners, while Tables and select printers are consistent loss-makers — often driven by heavy discounting.
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
Canon ImageCLASS Copier
$25,199
100%
Fellowes PB500 Binder
$13,050
51.8%
Hewlett Packard LaserJet
$9,145
36.3%
GBC DocuBind Binder
$8,320
33.0%
Samsung Smart Phone
$7,900
31.4%
Cubify CubeX 3D Printer
-$8,879
100%
Lexmark MX611 Printer
-$4,591
51.7%
Bevis Round Table
-$3,880
43.7%
Chromcraft Bull-Nose Table
-$3,462
39.0%
GBC Ibimaster Binder
-$1,971
22.2%
2.2 CONT.
Category Performance: Sales & Profitability
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TECHNOLOGY
$836,154
$145,455
17.4%
✓ Best Profit Margin
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OFFICE SUPPLIES
$719,047
$122,491
17.0%
✓ Most Orders
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FURNITURE
$741,999
$18,451
2.5%
⚠ Weakest Profitability
<b>Insight:</b> Furniture generates comparable sales to Technology but only 2.5% profit margin vs. 17.4%. Aggressive discounting and high shipping costs on large items are the primary margin killers.
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.3
Sales & Profit Trends Over Time
Total 4-Year Sales
$2,297,200
Total 4-Year Profit
$286,397
Avg. Profit Margin
12.5%
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
Sales
Profit
$484K
$471K
$608K
$734K
$49K
$82K
$93K
$93K
Amount (USD)
2021
2022
2023
2024
2.4
Customer Segment Analysis
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.5
Regional Sales Performance
$725,458
$108,418
14.9%
$678,781
$91,523
13.5%
$391,722
$46,750
11.9%
$501,240
$39,706
7.9%
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.6
Additional KPI Findings
3 Key Metrics Beyond Sales & Profit
Average Order Discount Rate
15.6%
Avg. Discount Applied
Orders with discounts >20% average a <strong style="color:#F87171; font-weight: 800;">NEGATIVE</strong> profit margin of -4.3%. Discounting strategy needs immediate review.
Average Shipping Days
3.96 days
Avg. Ship-to-Delivery Time
Standard Class shipping averages <strong style="color:#fff; font-weight: 700;">5.0 days</strong>. First Class averages <strong style="color:#fff; font-weight: 700;">2.2 days</strong>. Same Day accounts for only 5.5% of orders.
Customer Return Rate / Repeat Orders
793
Unique Customers
Top 10 customers account for <strong style="color:#22C55E; font-weight: 700;">$72,000+</strong> in total profit. High-value repeat customers are concentrated in the Consumer and Corporate segments.
💡 <strong style="color:#3B82F6; font-weight: 700;">Key Takeaway:</strong> Excessive discounting is the single <strong style="color:#FFF; font-weight: 600;">biggest threat to profitability</strong>. A discount reduction strategy could add significant margin improvement across all segments.
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.7
Product Profitability Trend
The Trend: Furniture Profitability Declining
Potential Explanations
1. Escalating Discount Rates
Furniture items receive disproportionately high discounts (avg. 22%), often exceeding cost margins.
2. High Shipping Costs
Large/heavy items (Tables, Bookcases) incur above-average freight costs not reflected in pricing.
3. Product Mix Shift
Growing share of low-margin sub-categories (Tables, Bookcases) vs higher-margin (Chairs, Furnishings).
4. Competitive Pricing Pressure
Price matching on commodity furniture items reducing achievable margins.
2.7.1 ADDITIONAL DATA SOURCES TO CONSULT
Supplier Cost Data
Track COGS changes over time
Freight & Logistics Invoices
Isolate shipping cost per item
Competitor Pricing Data
Benchmark pricing vs. market
Customer Returns Data
Identify defect/return rates by category
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.7.1
Recommended Additional Data Sources
To Further Investigate the Furniture Profitability Decline
Supplier Cost Records
Historical purchase price per SKU — enables accurate COGS tracking and reveals cost creep over time.
Why: Pinpoints cost-push margin erosion
Freight & Shipping Invoices
Per-order shipping costs by weight and dimensions — large furniture items may carry untracked freight costs.
Why: Isolates logistics cost impact
Competitor Pricing Data
Public market prices from Staples, Office Depot, Amazon Business — benchmarks achievable margins.
Why: Reveals external pricing pressure
Returns & Refund Records
Return rates and refund amounts per product — high returns in Furniture could mask true revenue figures.
Why: Uncovers hidden revenue loss
Macroeconomic Indices
CPI, inflation data, and supply chain disruption indices — external factors may explain margin compression.
Why: Contextualizes timing of decline
Marketing & Promo Spend
Discount campaign records by product and date — links specific promotions to profit margin timeline.
Why: Connects discounts to impact
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.8
Interactive Power BI Dashboard
Key Insights at a Glance
$2,297,200
$286,397
9,994
15.6%
Interactive slicers: Region, Segment & Year
Drill-through to product-level detail
Dynamic KPI cards update with filters
Cross-filtered visuals for holistic view
Mobile-optimized responsive layout
Real-time data refresh capability
[Insert Power BI URL Here]
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
Section 2.9
Concluding Thoughts on Past Performance
Key Findings Summary
Sales Growth
Revenue grew 51.5% from 2021 to 2024, demonstrating consistent demand. However, growth has been accompanied by proportional cost increases.
Top Performer
Technology is the star category — highest profit margin (17.4%) and home to the top individual profit-earning products.
Problem Area
Furniture consistently underperforms with only 2.5% profit margin. Deep discounting and high logistics costs are primary culprits.
Discount Risk
Orders with discounts above 20% consistently generate losses. The current discounting policy is unsustainable at scale.
Regional Strength
The West region dominates profitability, particularly California — representing a strategic geographic advantage to leverage.
Strategic Scorecard
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
2.9 (cont.)
Recommendations for Future Growth
Revise Discounting Policy
Cap maximum discounts at 15% across all categories. Implement tiered volume-based discounts to reward loyal customers without sacrificing margins. Focus reduction especially on Furniture sub-categories.
Double Down on Technology
Increase inventory and marketing investment in high-margin Technology products, particularly Phones, Copiers, and Accessories which consistently deliver 17%+ margins.
Optimize the Furniture Portfolio
Discontinue or reprice chronically loss-making products (e.g., specific Tables). Renegotiate supplier contracts and shipping rates for large-format furniture items.
Target Corporate & Home Office Segments
Allocate additional sales resources toward Corporate and Home Office segments which show higher profit margins per order despite lower volume.
Expand West Region Presence
Leverage the West region's proven success by expanding into underserved Pacific markets. Investigate why Central region lags and develop targeted interventions.
Invest in Customer Analytics
Develop a customer lifetime value (CLV) model to identify and retain the highest-value customers. Top 10 customers represent disproportionate profit contribution.
ADM1370 | Group 7 | Kareem Abu-Dalfa & Ryan Kronwald
THANK YOU
ADM1370 | Winter 2026 | Assignment 02 | Group 7
Thank You
Questions & Discussion
Kareem Abu-Dalfa
Ryan Kronwald
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$2.3M Total Sales
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$286K Total Profit
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4 Regions Analyzed
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3 Product Categories
Dataset: U.S. Multi-Year Retail Transactions | Presented via Power BI
- data-analytics
- retail-sales-analysis
- business-intelligence
- profitability-trends
- kpi-dashboard
- market-research
- sales-strategy