Inventory management statistics show how businesses are adjusting stock levels, measuring turnover and absorbing inventory-related costs. The figures below span Canadian survey estimates and company-reported results from fiscal 2022 through 2026, so each measure should be read within its stated population, definition and period.
Key Inventory Management Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- 51.3% of Canadian inventory-holding businesses established before 2020 reported current inventory levels about the same as pre-pandemic levels in Q3 2024.
- 26.2% of those Canadian businesses reported higher inventory levels than before the pandemic in Q3 2024.
- 22.4% of those Canadian businesses reported lower inventory levels than before the pandemic in Q3 2024.
- 56.6% of the same Canadian businesses said their inventory-holding approach was unchanged from before the pandemic in Q3 2024.
- 41.1% of Canadian wholesale businesses reported higher inventory levels than pre-pandemic levels in Q3 2024.
- 31.7% of Canadian manufacturing businesses reported higher inventory levels than pre-pandemic levels in Q3 2024.
- 28.6% of Canadian retail businesses reported lower inventory levels than pre-pandemic levels in Q3 2024.
- Home Depot recorded inventory turnover of 4.7 times at the end of fiscal 2024.
- Dillard’s retail merchandise inventory turned over 2.6 times in fiscal 2024.
- Dollar General reported inventory turnover of 4.5 times for the four quarters ended January 30, 2026.
- Target reported $12.7 billion of inventory on February 1, 2025.
- A 10% change in Target’s fiscal 2024 year-end inventory shrink reserve would have changed cost of sales by approximately $150 million.
- Dollar General recorded a $211.0 million LIFO provision in fiscal 2025.
- Urban Outfitters’ total inventory decreased 6.3% in fiscal 2024.
- Urban Outfitters’ fiscal 2024 net sales increased 7.5% to $5.15 billion.
- The share of Canadian businesses expecting inventory maintenance to be an obstacle fell from a Q1 2022 peak of 20.8% to 5.9% in Q3 2024.
- Home Depot’s online sales represented 15.1% of fiscal 2024 net sales.
- Dollar General’s two largest suppliers represented approximately 11% and 8% of purchases in fiscal 2025.
Contents
- Current inventory levels and pre-pandemic trends
- Inventory management data by industry
- Inventory turnover statistics and days-on-hand measures
- Inventory management costs, shrink and accounting provisions
- Inventory levels, sales and working-capital outcomes
- Inventory risks, supply obstacles and operating context
Current Inventory Management Statistics and Pre-Pandemic Trends
Statistics Canada’s Q3 2024 analysis covers inventory-holding businesses established before 2020. Its comparisons describe current levels and approaches relative to the pre-pandemic period; they are survey estimates, not measurements of aggregate inventory value.
| Reported position in Q3 2024 | Share of Canadian businesses |
|---|---|
| Inventory levels about the same as pre-pandemic | 51.3% |
| Inventory levels higher than pre-pandemic | 26.2% |
| Inventory levels lower than pre-pandemic | 22.4% |
The same survey asked about the approach businesses were trying to use, which is distinct from the level they actually held. 56.6% said their current inventory-holding approach was unchanged from before the pandemic, while 19.3% were trying to hold higher levels and 24.1% were trying to hold lower levels.
These figures are self-reported categorical comparisons. They apply to the specified inventory-holding population and do not establish whether a business’s inventory increased or decreased by a particular dollar amount.
Inventory Management Data by Industry in Canada
The Canadian industry results show that the same pre-pandemic question produced different answers across sectors. Wholesale trade had the highest reported share with higher inventory levels, while retail had the highest reported share with lower levels.
| Canadian industry, Q3 2024 | Higher than pre-pandemic | About the same as pre-pandemic | Lower than pre-pandemic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale trade | 41.1% | — | — |
| Manufacturing | 31.7% | — | — |
| Retail trade | 24.8% | — | 28.6% |
| Construction | 22.7% | — | — |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 19.0% | 67.1% | — |
| Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 7.2% | 76.6% | — |
The table does not show a complete distribution for every industry because the supplied results identify selected category shares. The figures are industry subgroup survey estimates for Canadian businesses established before 2020, rather than universal industry benchmarks.
Wholesale businesses’ 41.1% share reporting higher levels and manufacturing’s 31.7% share indicate more frequent upward comparisons than retail’s 24.8%. Retail also recorded the highest supplied lower-level share, at 28.6%, while 76.6% of mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction businesses reported levels about the same as pre-pandemic.
Inventory Turnover Statistics and Days-on-Hand Measures
Inventory turnover expresses how many times inventory turns over during a stated period, but company definitions can differ. The following reported figures are company KPIs, not a single industry average.
| Company and measure | Period | Turnover |
|---|---|---|
| Home Depot inventory turnover | Fiscal 2024 end, February 2, 2025 | 4.7 times |
| Home Depot inventory turnover | Fiscal 2023 end | 4.3 times |
| Dillard’s retail merchandise inventory turnover | Fiscal 2024 | 2.6 times |
| Dillard’s retail merchandise inventory turnover | Fiscal 2023 | 2.8 times |
| Dillard’s retail merchandise inventory turnover | Fiscal 2022 | 2.9 times |
| Dollar General inventory turnover | Four quarters ended January 30, 2026 | 4.5 times |
| Dollar General inventory turnover | Four quarters ended January 31, 2025 | 4.1 times |
Sources: The Home Depot, Inc. Fiscal 2024 Form 10-K, Dillard’s, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended February 1, 2025, and Dollar General Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal year ended January 30, 2026.
Home Depot’s reported turnover rose from 4.3 times at fiscal 2023 end to 4.7 times at fiscal 2024 end. Dillard’s retail merchandise turnover moved from 2.9 times in fiscal 2022 to 2.8 times in fiscal 2023 and 2.6 times in fiscal 2024.
Dollar General reported 4.5 times for the four quarters ended January 30, 2026, compared with 4.1 times for the prior four-quarter period. Dollar General explicitly calculated the KPI using trailing-four-quarter cost of goods sold divided by a five-quarter average inventory balance, so its definition should not automatically be applied to the other companies.
Inventory Management Costs, Shrink and Accounting Provisions
Inventory balances and provisions reveal financial exposure, but they are not interchangeable. A balance-sheet inventory amount measures stock held at a date, a shrink reserve sensitivity measures modeled cost-of-sales exposure, and a LIFO provision is an accounting measure rather than a direct physical-waste rate.
Target reported inventory of $12.7 billion on February 1, 2025, compared with $11.9 billion on February 3, 2024. Target also estimated that a 10% change in its fiscal 2024 year-end inventory shrink reserve would have changed cost of sales by approximately $150 million; this is a sensitivity analysis, not the recorded shrink amount.
Urban Outfitters reported total inventory of $550.2 million on January 31, 2024, compared with $587.5 million on January 31, 2023. These are company balance-sheet figures and do not represent a logistics-industry total.
Dollar General’s LIFO provisions were reported as follows:
- Fiscal 2025: $211.0 million.
- Fiscal 2024: $38.7 million.
- Fiscal 2023: $61.6 million.
Source: Target Corporation 2024 Form 10-K, Urban Outfitters, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, and Dollar General Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal year ended January 30, 2026.
The Dollar General provisions should not be read as physical shrink, operational waste or obsolete stock. They are accounting provisions, just as Target’s sensitivity is an estimate of the effect of a reserve change.
Inventory Levels, Sales and Working-Capital Outcomes
Company filings pair inventory figures with sales and operating measures, offering context but not proof that inventory management alone caused an outcome. Urban Outfitters provides several segment-level examples for fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024.
| Urban Outfitters measure | Fiscal 2023 comparison | Fiscal 2024 comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Total inventory | Increased 3.1% | Decreased 6.3% |
| Retail-segment inventory | Increased 4.4% | Decreased 4.6% |
| Comparable retail inventory | Not supplied | Decreased 1.9% |
| Wholesale-segment inventory | Decreased 7.3% | Decreased 22.0% |
Source: Urban Outfitters, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended January 31, 2024.
Urban Outfitters’ fiscal 2024 net sales increased 7.5% to $5.15 billion, while gross profit percentage rose to 33.3% from 29.8% in fiscal 2023. The filing attributes the profitability change to several factors, including markdowns and transportation, so it should not be treated as an inventory-only effect.
Home Depot reported fiscal 2024 net sales of $159.5 billion and operating cash flow of $19.8 billion. Dillard’s reported fiscal 2024 net sales of $6,482.6 million, retail sales of $137 per retail square foot, and 272 stores at fiscal year-end; these are scale and productivity measures, not direct inventory-efficiency ratios.
Home Depot operated 2,347 stores on February 2, 2025. Its operating cash flow and sales provide company context, but the supplied figures do not attribute either result solely to inventory management.
Inventory Risks, Supply Obstacles and Operating Context
The Canadian obstacle series measures what businesses expected over the next three months, not the share that experienced a realized shortage. The expectation that maintaining inventory levels would be an obstacle peaked at 20.8% in Q1 2022 and fell to 5.9% in Q3 2024.
In Q3 2024, 11.5% of Canadian businesses expected difficulty acquiring inputs, products or supplies within Canada to be an obstacle, while 4.4% expected difficulty acquiring them from abroad. These are survey expectations for Canadian businesses, not observed disruption rates.
Home Depot’s channel mix also provides operating context: online sales represented 15.1% of fiscal 2024 net sales and increased 6.6% from fiscal 2023. The figures do not directly measure inventory accuracy or fulfillment performance.
Supplier concentration can matter when interpreting inventory risk. Dollar General reported that its two largest suppliers accounted for approximately 11% and 8% of purchases in fiscal 2025.
Dollar General also reported that the excess of current cost over LIFO cost was approximately $1.124 billion on January 30, 2026, compared with approximately $913.8 million on January 31, 2025. This is an accounting difference under LIFO, not an inventory loss.
Sources: Statistics Canada, “Analysis on inventory management among businesses in Canada, third quarter of 2024”, The Home Depot, Inc. Fiscal 2024 Form 10-K, and Dollar General Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal year ended January 30, 2026.