AMES, Iowa -- Iowa's retail per capita sales (taxable sales and not total retail sales) have gone down 4 percent between 2000-08, according to the new Retail Sales Analysis & Report for Fiscal Year 2008 by Iowa State University's Regional Capacity Analysis Program (ReCAP).
Authored by ISU economist Meghan O'Brien, the report also shows that despite record setting consumer spending expansion nationally since 2000, Iowa's retail sales showed no growth when adjusted for inflation.
But that's not all bad news.
"If anything surprised me, it's that maybe our numbers weren't down more and we didn't have a larger decline," said O'Brien, who is also an ISU Extension program specialist. "The fact that our sales have not changed when adjusted for inflation for eight years was surprising. Also, I think I went into this year thinking 2007-08 would have seen a larger decline in the aggregate."
O'Brien's report also found that 16 of Iowa's 99 counties had per capita retail sales higher than the state average. Those same 16 counties also had sales higher than the state average in 2007.
"That indicates that the consolidation of trade and retail that the state was experiencing continues in the same manner -- meaning Iowa's not undergoing a complete structural shift," she said.
She documents in the report that Iowa has seen a decline in the retail health of small towns and rural communities, and more recently a trend towards consolidation of retail trade in suburbs and ancillary cities at the expense of metro areas and rural areas. O'Brien says that trend will force some communities to view retail health differently and look for innovative approaches for growth.
The complete Iowa Community Reports, which includes the retail sales reports, can be found at http://www.recap.iastate.edu/retail/. They also include reports on population trends, child well-being and school district profiles.
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http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2009/mar/120501.htm
Contacts:
Meghan O'Brien, (515) 294-4095, mcobrien@iastate.edu
Mike Ferlazzo, (515) 294-8986, ferlazzo@iastate.edu
