Benchmarking the US specialty retailers and food consumer stores using data envelopment analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the relative efficiency of the US specialty retailers and food consumer stores using cross‐sectional data for the year 2007. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a non‐parametric data envelopment analysis approach to measure the relative efficiency of 45 retailers in the USA. Findings – The results indicate that the performance of several retailers is sub‐optimal, suggesting the potential for significant improvements over both profitability and marketability dimensions. Separate benchmarks were derived for possible reductions in resources used, and significant savings are possible on this account. Originality/value – From a policy perspective, this paper highlights the economic importance of encouraging increased efficiency throughout the retailing sector in the USA.