Total retail revenue growth blends two very different things: more stores and better stores. Same-store sales isolate the second, and a chain growing only by opening locations while comparable sales decline is usually heading for trouble.
Definitions vary in how long a store waits to enter the base, how remodels are treated, and whether online sales count. Those choices are disclosed and occasionally changed, which is worth noticing when the change flatters the number.
Example: Northwind's retail arm grows revenue 9% by opening 22 stores, while same-store sales fall 1.8%, split between 2.4% fewer transactions and 0.6% higher average basket.
Related: organic-growth, revenue, segment-reporting, year-over-year, gross-margin