Retail Sales Data Shows Surging NCW

October retail sales numbers in Washington continue to show the state's rebound since the lockdown-plagued 2020.

According to the Washington State Department of Revenue, the state's retail sales were up almost 34% since October of last year. Locally, many cities saw retail gains that were even larger than the state average.

Leavenworth, which was especially hard hit during the early days of the pandemic, has seen sales explode to 134% year-over-year. The City of Chelan also appears to be recovering well, with taxable retail sales growing by 70% since October 2020. Wenatchee, East Wenatchee and Moses Lake all saw their retail sales totals increase by more than 30% over that same time frame.

Quincy's taxable retail sales were essentially stagnant over the last year.

Here are some sectors that saw increases in taxable retail sales during the second quarter 2021 compared to the same period (April-June) in 2020:

• Construction increased 38% to $10.9 billion.

• Taxable retail sales reported by new and used auto dealers rose 49.7% to $4.4 billion.

• Building materials, garden equipment and supplies increased 17% to $3.1 billion.

• Taxable retail sales in general merchandise stores grew by 14.5% to $3.3 billion.

• Apparel and Accessories sales increased by 122.5% to $1.1 billion.

The majority of sectors saw healthy second quarter taxable retail sales increases from the previous year’s second quarter.