The holiday shopping season turned out to be a nice present for Whatcom County retailers.
Retail trade, which focuses on sales that took place in stores, totaled $430.3 million locally in the fourth quarter, a 7.5 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, according to new report from the Washington State Department of Revenue. It was the highest quarterly total ever in Whatcom County for retail trade, topping the fourth quarter of 2007, which was $413.8 million.
Statewide, retail trade increased 3.6 percent for the same period.
?This is a very healthy increase for Whatcom County,? said Ken Oplinger, president of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry. ?It is much more than I expected.?
Overall taxable retail sales, which include industries such as construction and manufacturing, totaled $828.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, a 4.9 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Across Washington, overall retail sales increased 4.2 percent for the same period.
Last quarter?s overall total in Whatcom is still well off the peak of $873.4 million, set in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Canadian shoppers continued to play a significant role in rising store sales. Sales in the general merchandise store category, which focuses on big-box stores, increased 7.4 percent year-over-year to $125.4 million. With the Canadian dollar remaining strong, some local retailers noticed significantly more shoppers from British Columbia during the holidays.
Other retail categories that posted strong increases year-over-year include clothing and accessories (up 10 percent), motor vehicles and parts (up 9.4 percent) and electronics/appliances (up 6.5 percent).
Communities close to the border also benefited from increased traffic. Retail trade sales totaled $2.9 million in Sumas for the quarter, up 30.8 percent year over year, while Blaine was up 14.3 percent, totaling $12.5 million retail trade sales.
Oplinger said border crossing numbers continued to increase in the first quarter of 2012, so based on current conditions, he expects retail sales to continue to rise locally in the coming months.
In Skagit County, retail trade totaled $303.5 million in the fourth quarter, a 3.2 percent increase from the previous year. Overall retail sales were $548.6 million, a 5.8 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.
RETAIL SALES BY COMMUNITY
A look at how selected communities fared in overall retail sales and retail trade (sales that took place in stores) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the percent change from the fourth quarter of 2010:
Whatcom County: $828.1 million, up 4.9 percent. Retail trade: $430.3 million, up 7.5 percent.
Bellingham: $550 million, up 4.4 percent. Retail trade: $339 million, up 6.6 percent.
Blaine: $32.5 million, up 8.1 percent. Retail trade: $12.5 million, up 14.3 percent.
Everson: $5.7 million, up 6.2 percent. Retail trade: $2.2 million, up 1.4 percent.
Ferndale: $43.4 million, up 20.4 percent. Retail trade: $15.2 million, up 1.8 percent.
Lynden: $48.8 million, up 8.5 percent. Retail trade: $21.6 million, up 5.9 percent.
Nooksack: $1.7 million, up 10.5 percent. Retail trade: $805,421, up 11.1 percent.
Sumas: $5.2 million, up 15.2 percent. Retail trade: $2.9 million, up 30.8 percent.
Unincorporated Whatcom County: $140.8 million, up 0.9 percent. Retail trade: $35.9 million, up 16.3 percent.
SOURCE: WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
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