Average per capita retail sales stabilized from fiscal year 2010 to 2011 after falling sharply in fiscal 2009, according to an Iowa State University study.
The ISU study said per-capita sales grew by less than 1 percent in the year ended June 30, 2011. The modest growth was reassuring after a sharp 6.5 percent drop in the year ended June 30, 2010, according to Liesl Eathington, director of ISU?s Regional Economics and Community Analysis Program.
?Although it was slow, the growth was fairly widespread,? said Eathington, who is also an assistant scientist in ISU?s Department of Economics.
Sales were hurt most by the recession in smaller metro areas such as Mason City and Fort Dodge that are classified as micropolitan areas.?
?These are places that were really hit pretty hard during the recession with a lot of manufacturing job losses,? Eathington said in prepared remarks. The retail areas of those communities are showing stress, she added.
The state?s 21 most rural counties enjoyed a 4 percent increase in real per capita sales from fiscal year 2010 to 11, well above the overall gain across the state. While that?s good news for the rural counties, Eathington noted that they account for just 3.2 percent of Iowa?s taxable sales.
Rising Internet sales are continuing to slightly erode the amount Iowans spend in-state on taxable goods and services, Eathington said. The impact of the Internet on statewide sales tax collections can?t be measured, she said, partly because the items taxed now continue to change.
While Iowans appear to be spending more, Eathington said retail spending is less important than factors such as employment and earnings that reflect more directly the performance of the economy.
Source: http://business380.com/2012/03/22/report-finds-retail-sales-stabilizing-slightly-in-iowa/
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