Retail sales up 12% in first quarter 2021

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Sept. 1, 2021 – The first quarter of 2021 saw a rebound in taxable retail sales across the state over first quarter 2020, reaching $46 billion, thanks to strong sales in new and used automobiles and a healthy upswing in construction.

Retail trade, a subset of all taxable retail sales in the state, also increased 22.9% for a total of $20.9 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.

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

• Construction increased 6.6% to $9.4 billion.
• Taxable retail sales reported by new and used auto dealers rose 31.8% to $4 billion.
• Building materials, garden equipment and supplies increased 27.3% to $2.2 billion.
• Taxable retail sales in general merchandise stores grew by 13.6% to $2.9 billion.
• Apparel and Accessories sales increased by 18.7% to $1 billion.

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

See first quarter 2021 taxable retail sales and retail trade sales by industry.

Find out more information about taxable retail sales in:

• Counties
• Cities

• Some highlights of 10 counties and cities in the state:

County	Taxable retail sales	Percent change	Retail trade	Percent change
County King	Taxable retail sales $16.9 billion	Percent change 2.3	Retail trade $6.4 billion	Percent change 15.1
County Pierce	Taxable retail sales $ 5.2 billion	Percent change 19.4	Retail trade $2.7 billion	Percent change 29.4
County Snohomish	Taxable retail sales $ 4.4 billion	Percent change 14.8	Retail trade $2.3 billion	Percent change 23.2
County Spokane	Taxable retail sales $ 3.1 billion	Percent change 18.5	Retail trade $1.6 billion	Percent change 30.1
County Clark	Taxable retail sales $ 2.4 billion	Percent change 20.9	Retail trade $1.1 billion	Percent change 28.1
County Thurston	Taxable retail sales $ 1.7 billion	Percent change 16.2	Retail trade $877 million	Percent change 26.2
County Kitsap	Taxable retail sales $ 1.4 billion	Percent change 16.5	Retail trade $730 million	Percent change 24.3
County Benton	Taxable retail sales $ 1.2 billion	Percent change 18.5	Retail trade $668 million	Percent change 29.6
County Yakima	Taxable retail sales $ 1.1 billion	Percent change 14.6	Retail trade $607 million	Percent change 24.9
County Whatcom	Taxable retail sales $ 1.2 billion	Percent change 15.6	Retail trade $579 million	Percent change 19.2

 

City	Taxable retail sales	Percent change	Retail trade	Percent change
City Seattle	Taxable retail sales $6.5 billion	Percent change -4.1	Retail trade $2.0 billion	Percent change 4.9
City Bellevue	Taxable retail sales $2.0 billion	Percent change -0.9	Retail trade $831 million	Percent change 15.9
City Tacoma	Taxable retail sales $1.5 billion	Percent change 14.9	Retail trade $784 million	Percent change 26.5
City Spokane City	Taxable retail sales $1.4 billion	Percent change 14.9	Retail trade $735 million	Percent change 28.1
City Vancouver	Taxable retail sales $1.3 billion	Percent change 19.5	Retail trade $588 million	Percent change 25.2
City Everett	Taxable retail sales $794 million	Percent change 12.4	Retail trade $383 million	Percent change 20.2
City Renton	Taxable retail sales $774 million	Percent change 15.2	Retail trade $435 million	Percent change 26.9
City Puyallup	Taxable retail sales $710 million	Percent change 19.3	Retail trade $477 million	Percent change 21.5
City Kennewick	Taxable retail sales $611 million	Percent change 16.1	Retail trade $372 million	Percent change 24.8
City Pasco	Taxable retail sales $425 million	Percent change 8.8	Retail trade $245 million	Percent change 28.8

Compare taxable retail sales numbers for first quarter 2021 and previous years by checking out Retail sales for cities and counties information.

Check Revenue’s Statistics and Reports 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.