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Growth spurred by construction, building materials, garden equipment and supplies
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Feb. 12, 2020 – The summer months of 2019 saw strong sales in construction and of building materials, garden equipment and supplies, boosting the state’s taxable retail sales in third quarter (July – September) 2019. The taxable retail sales increased by 7% in the third quarter of 2019 over the same period in 2018, reaching $47.9 billion.
Retail trade, a subset of all taxable retail sales in the state, also increased by 6% to a total of $19.7 billion. Retail trade includes sales of items such as clothing, furniture and automobiles, but excludes other industries, such as services and construction.
Taxable retail sales are transactions subject to the retail sales tax, including sales by retailers, the construction industry, manufacturing and other sectors.
These figures are part of a quarterly report released today by the Washington State Department of Revenue. The taxable retail sales figures compare the same quarter year-to-year to equalize any seasonal effects that would influence consumer and business spending.
Some highlights of third-quarter 2019 taxable retail sales and retail trade sales include:
- Construction rose 10% to $10.4 billion.
- Sales of building materials, garden equipment and supplies increased 4.3% to $2.1 billion.
- Miscellaneous retailers’ sales increased 24.3% to $3 billion.
- Apparel and accessories sales rose 5.4% to $1.3 billion.
- Taxable retail sales reported by new and used auto dealers decreased -3.1% to $3.6 billion.
See third quarter 2019 taxable retail sales and retail trade sales by industry.
Find out more information about taxable retail sales in:
Some highlights of 10 counties and cities in the state:
|
County |
Taxable retail sales |
Percent change |
Retail trade |
Percent change |
|
King |
$19 billion |
6 |
$6.5 billion |
3 |
|
Pierce |
$4.9 billion |
7 |
$2.3 billion |
5 |
|
Snohomish |
$4.5 billion |
10 |
$2.2 billion |
7 |
|
Spokane |
$3.1 billion |
10 |
$1.5 billion |
9 |
|
Clark |
$2.2 billion |
7 |
$951 million |
8 |
|
Thurston |
$1.6 billion |
8 |
$778 million |
6 |
|
Kitsap |
$1.4 billion |
6 |
$697 million |
9 |
|
Whatcom |
$1.3 billion |
6 |
$573 million |
7 |
|
Benton |
$1.2 billion |
12 |
$590 million |
10 |
|
Yakima |
$1.1 billion |
5 |
$542 million |
7 |
|
City |
Taxable retail sales |
Percent change |
Retail trade |
Percent change |
|
Seattle |
$7.8 billion |
7 |
$2.1 billion |
5 |
|
Bellevue |
$2.2 billion |
2 |
$893 million |
-5 |
|
Tacoma |
$1.5 billion |
4 |
$702 million |
5 |
|
Spokane City |
$1.5 billion |
7 |
$657 million |
6 |
|
Vancouver |
$1.2 billion |
8 |
$526 million |
6 |
|
Renton |
$798 million |
-1 |
$409 million |
3 |
|
Everett |
$833 million |
9 |
$382 million |
4 |
|
Puyallup |
$730 million |
5 |
$457 million |
4 |
|
Kennewick |
$619 million |
7 |
$356 million |
9 |
|
Pasco |
$412 million |
9 |
$216 million |
8 |
Check Revenue’s Statistics and Reports page for additional detail about taxable retail sales.
Understanding how businesses are classified
Revenue uses business tax return data to create this quarterly report. Businesses are categorized under the U.S. Census Bureau’s classification system based on their primary taxable activity. The North American Industry Classification System – or NAICS – is the same method federal statistical agencies use for the purpose of analyzing economic data.
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