LibGuides: Introduction to Market Sizing Research: How many stores/outlets are there?

How many stores/outlets are there?

There are a few sources for information on the number of stores or establishments within a specific industry category. This may be useful in looking at the number of outlets that could sell a product to consumers, or in investigating the number B2B customers

Searching IBISWorld for information on the number of retailers within an industry

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
(IBISWorld) Canadian, Ontario, and U.S. industry market research and industry risk ratings. Searchable by keyword, company name, or NAICS code.
Details and Terms of Use

IBISWorld publishes reports on Canadian and Ontario industries – and these reports include statistics about the number of businesses within an industry category.

Information on the number of businesses may be found in the ‘Key Statistics’ section of a report.

Searching Statista for information on the number of stores

Statista This link opens in a new window
(Statista, Inc.) Statistical data and analysis of business, industry, product brands, market share, media, and social scientific topics, obtained from both private and public sector sources, and covering all regions of the world.
Details and Terms of Use

Statista has data from many sources, relating to industries, consumers, countries, and many other topics. It often has statistics showing the number of stores, retailers, or outlets.

Search for keywords like the name of the product or type of store, and include terms like stores, retailers, outlets, etc. Try switching up your keywords to find additional information.

Navigating Statistics Canada's Canadian Business Counts

The Canadian Business Counts are counts of active Canadian businesses. They are produced semi-annually, with data released in August and February. The data tables can be filtered by industry (NAICS) and location, to get a count of businesses within specific criteria.

First, search for Canadian Business Counts on the Statistics Canada Data website to find the data table.

Within the Canadian Business Counts table, data is often available for a specific geography, NAICS, or business size. To refine the table, follow these steps:

Step 1: On Canadian Business Counts data table, click the Add/Remove data button
Step 2: Select specific criteria of interest to refine the table. For example, businesses operating in a specific NAICS industry, or within a specific province.
Step 3: Click Apply to reload the table.

Using company directories to create a list of companies

A business directory lists companies by product or industry and includes location and contact information. Some also provide company size and sales. Use a business directory to build a list of companies meeting specific criteria – for example, businesses within an industry category and geographic area.

View the FAQs below to learn how to create company lists.

Q. How do I create a list of companies in Scott’s Directories?
Scott's Directories is a directory of Canadian companies, that includes many small companies.
Q. How do I create a list of companies in Nexis Uni?
Nexis Uni is a broad database that includes many types of information. It also includes a tool for creating lists of companies, Canadian and internationally.