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Growth spurred by construction and lawn and garden supplies sales
OLYMPIA, WASH. – Aug. 9, 2018 – A bump in construction and lawn and garden supplies and equipment sales helped boost the state’s taxable retail sales in first quarter of 2018. The sales increased by 10.3 percent over the same period in 2017, reaching $37.6 billion.
Retail trade, a subset of all taxable retail sales in the state, also increased by 8.6 percent to a total of $15.8 billion.
Taxable retail sales are transactions subject to the retail sales tax, including sales by retailers, the construction industry, manufacturing and other sectors. Retail trade includes sales of items such as clothing, furniture and automobiles, but excludes other industries, such as services and construction.
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-over-year to equalize any seasonal effects that would influence consumer and business spending.
Some highlights of first quarter 2018 (January - March) taxable retail sales and retail trade sales include:
- Construction rose 11.1 percent to $7.4 billion
- Taxable retail sales reported by new and used auto dealers increased 2.2 percent to $3.3 billion
- Drug and health store sales jumped 9.1 percent to $733 million
- Lawn and garden supplies and equipment rose by 13.7 percent to $186 million
See first-quarter 2018 taxable retail sales and retail trade sales by industry.
Of the top 10 most populated counties in the state, Kitsap and Skagit counties enjoyed the largest overall taxable retail sales percentage increase. Spokane Valley and Vancouver saw the largest increase of the most populated cities.
See first-quarter 2018 taxable retail sales and retail trade sales for cities and counties:
| County | Taxable retail sales | Percent change | Retail trade | Percent change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County King | Taxable retail sales $15.4 billion | Percent change 9.0 | Retail trade $5.3 billion | Percent change 6.5 |
| County Pierce | Taxable retail sales $4.0 billion | Percent change 10.4 | Retail trade $1.9 billion | Percent change 8.2 |
| County Snohomish | Taxable retail sales $3.5 billion | Percent change 10.1 | Retail trade $1.8 billion | Percent change 6.8 |
| County Spokane | Taxable retail sales $2.3 billion | Percent change 10.1 | Retail trade $1.1 billion | Percent change 9.0 |
| County Clark | Taxable retail sales $1.8 billion | Percent change 13.9 | Retail trade $747 million | Percent change 10.2 |
| County Thurston | Taxable retail sales $1.3 billion | Percent change 9.4 | Retail trade $630 million | Percent change 11.9 |
| County Kitsap | Taxable retail sales $1.1 billion | Percent change 14.8 | Retail trade $556 million | Percent change 10.4 |
| County Whatcom | Taxable retail sales $1.0 billion | Percent change 10.8 | Retail trade $450 million | Percent change 12.7 |
| County Yakima | Taxable retail sales $936 million | Percent change 14.1 | Retail trade $453 million | Percent change 10.5 |
| County Skagit | Taxable retail sales $717 million | Percent change 14.9 | Retail trade $371 million | Percent change 8.8 |
| City | Taxable retail sales | Percent change | Retail trade | Percent change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Seattle | Taxable retail sales $6.4 billion | Percent change 9.4 | Retail trade $1.7 billion | Percent change 5.8 |
| City Bellevue | Taxable retail sales $1.8 billion | Percent change 3.4 | Retail trade $739 million | Percent change 6.9 |
| City Tacoma | Taxable retail sales $1.4 billion | Percent change 9.4 | Retail trade $601 million | Percent change 3.8 |
| City Spokane City | Taxable retail sales $1.2 billion | Percent change 8.7 | Retail trade $534 million | Percent change 6.4 |
| City Vancouver | Taxable retail sales $980 million | Percent change 13.9 | Retail trade $429 million | Percent change 8.0 |
| City Renton | Taxable retail sales $706 million | Percent change 6.3 | Retail trade $350 million | Percent change 4.4 |
| City Everett | Taxable retail sales $699 million | Percent change 5.6 | Retail trade $331 million | Percent change 1.4 |
| City Lynnwood | Taxable retail sales $597 million | Percent change 8.3 | Retail trade $388 million | Percent change 8.3 |
| City Spokane Valley | Taxable retail sales $567 million | Percent change 11.5 | Retail trade $336 million | Percent change 11.0 |
| City Puyallup | Taxable retail sales $598 million | Percent change 9.3 | Retail trade $393 million | Percent change 9.1 |
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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