Know-How Exchange : Research/Metrics

First off, I am not a student with an assignment. I am an industry veteran and have been asked to identify the elements needed to assess retailer's performance in today's economy. I realize this is a much bigger question that it appears. While the knee-jerk reaction is address the role of web-based retailing and the potential to read and analyze through the use of web based analytics, there are also social, political and economic dimensions that have to be considered as well. Am I missing anything? Relying on sales of a retailer is something I would address but keep a close discretionary eye on. Any thoughts on how to round this out to ensure fair metric consideration?

Thank you,
Zonedinn