Characteristics of the trade sector by business sector Annual data 2023

Key figures
Paru le :Paru le18/09/2025
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- September 2025

Warning on the inclusion of the economic concept of enterprise from the ESANE results 2017 : since the year 2017, data from the ESANE system are produced and disseminated entirely according to the economic definition of the enterprise, as specified by decree number 2008-1354 pursuant to the law on the modernisation of the economy (LME).

For the 2023 data, micro-entrepreneurs are better taken into account in ESANE and the estimate of their data has been revised upwards. Despite their significant number (1.9 million micro-entrepreneurs), the impact of this new estimate remains limited on the economic variables shown in this publication.

Characteristics of the trade sector by business sector

Characteristics of the trade sector by business sector
Number of enterprises Employees (FTE¹) excluding tax (in million euros) excluding tax (in million euros) Personnel costs² (in million euros) (in million euros) Gross excluding contributions (in million euros)
Wholesale and retail 114,295 417,171 234,121 32,471 22,814 8,327 5,561
Sale of motor vehicles 36,033 186,063 164,466 15,738 10,681 4,268 3,491
Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles 63,704 125,715 28,327 8,332 6,045 2,064 1,022
Sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories 8,699 90,910 34,791 7,484 5,400 1,800 966
Sale, maintenance and repair of motorcycles and related parts and accessories 5,859 14,483 6,538 917 688 195 82
, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 162,368 1,011,220 914,963 135,267 70,336 41,390 11,562
Wholesale on a fee or contract basis 54,991 96,003 154,015 15,086 6,631 3,338 1,290
Wholesale of agricultural raw materials and live animals 4,766 53,371 73,751 4,269 2,913 1,124 806
Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco 21,042 168,596 141,717 16,639 10,067 5,537 1,971
Wholesale of household goods 25,654 220,191 172,008 40,721 18,235 16,339 2,557
Wholesale of information and communication equipment 5,824 49,044 47,702 6,431 4,789 1,459 351
Wholesale of other machinery, equipment and supplies 19,007 184,392 104,393 19,050 12,755 5,762 1,423
Other specialised wholesale 16,265 213,863 205,008 30,601 13,336 7,033 2,925
Non-specialised wholesale trade 14,819 25,760 16,368 2,470 1,610 798 239
, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 462,465 1,613,003 579,231 104,244 75,563 23,122 12,913
Retail sale in non-specialised stores 39,819 715,286 295,210 40,988 29,831 8,012 6,296
Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores 44,639 95,791 26,992 6,089 4,388 1,517 706
Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores 2,613 11,191 7,506 595 486 103 70
Retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores 6,741 13,148 4,363 1,100 746 327 92
Retail sale of other household equipment in specialised stores 26,259 195,993 58,147 12,990 9,642 2,553 1,253
Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores 19,257 84,054 23,162 5,605 4,091 1,262 663
Retail sale of other goods in specialised stores 133,113 432,421 128,198 31,921 22,847 8,144 3,251
Retail sale via stalls and markets 79,733 13,636 4,827 1,182 651 470 119
Retail trade not in stores, stalls or markets 110,291 51,483 30,827 3,774 2,881 735 463
Total 739,128 3,041,393 1,728,315 271,982 168,712 72,839 30,036
  • 1. .
  • 2. Wages and charges.
  • Reading note: in 2023, employed 3,041,393 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees.
  • Coverage: France, enterprises within the trade sector.
  • Source: INSEE, ESANE.