Summer 2009 eNews Home
Northwest Florida Retail Sales
by Michael Scheibe, MBA
 The Northwest Florida region’s taxable retail sales totaled nearly $3.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, down 10.8 percent from the previous year. Despite the region as a whole being down 10.8 percent from the previous year, two counties gained. Gulf County’s and Calhoun County’s sales increased 8.7 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively. The largest percentage decline among the 16 counties was Liberty County at -17.3 percent. The retail sales in the region are measured according to data on taxable retail sales that is collected and distributed by the Florida Department of Revenue.
In the fourth quarter of 2008, four counties accounted for approximately 80 percent ($3.1 billion) of the taxable retail sales. Escambia County and Leon County were the two largest contributors at 24.6 percent ($958 million) and 22.6 percent ($878 million), respectively. Therefore, twelve of the Northwest Florida counties collectively accounted for almost 20 percent ($791 million) of the region’s total. Santa Rosa County was the largest out of these twelve counties with a 6.2 percent ($241 million) contribution while Liberty County was the smallest at 0.1 percent ($5.6 million).
The Northwest Florida Retail Sales graph shows actual monthly sales, a seasonally adjusted monthly figure, and a forecasted range. The seasonally adjusted monthly data has been trending downward over the past three years. The near term forecast for the Northwest Florida region continues to indicate only minor changes in upcoming retail sales when compared to the most recent retail sales figures. As the graph indicates, the peaks and the troughs in the forecast appear only slightly scaled back when compared to the previous year’s data.
The numbers for this article reflect the latest information available at the time of article preparation. Please note that these numbers are subject to subsequent revision by the Florida Department of Revenue.
| Table 1. Quarterly Retail Sales |
|
|
|
| |
Non Seasonally Adjusted Taxable Sales |
|
Changes in Taxable Sales |
| |
Sales Dollars* |
Percentage of Regional Total |
|
Sales Dollar Change |
Percentage Change |
| |
(Q4-08) |
(Q4-08) |
|
(Q3-08 to Q4-08) |
(Q4-07 to Q4-08) |
| Bay |
610.1 |
15.7% |
|
-180.5 |
-11.2% |
| Calhoun |
15.3 |
0.4% |
|
0.3 |
7.8% |
| Escambia |
957.6 |
24.6% |
|
-75.3 |
-12.1% |
| Franklin |
23.9 |
0.6% |
|
-17.6 |
-10.5% |
| Gadsden |
67.8 |
1.7% |
|
-4.0 |
-8.1% |
| Gulf |
20.2 |
0.5% |
|
-5.8 |
8.7% |
| Holmes |
14.8 |
0.4% |
|
-0.9 |
-9.6% |
| Jackson |
99.6 |
2.6% |
|
-3.3 |
-9.7% |
| Jefferson |
11.4 |
0.3% |
|
0.5 |
-14.7% |
| Leon |
877.5 |
22.6% |
|
-12.8 |
-11.1% |
| Liberty |
5.6 |
0.1% |
|
-0.7 |
-17.3% |
| Okaloosa |
651.8 |
16.8% |
|
-172.7 |
-12.1% |
| Santa Rosa |
240.8 |
6.2% |
|
-11.3 |
-6.5% |
| Wakulla |
36.8 |
0.9% |
|
0.3 |
-7.8% |
| Walton |
221.6 |
5.7% |
|
-148.3 |
-7.9% |
| Washington |
33.6 |
0.9% |
|
0.4 |
-7.5% |
| Region |
3,888.2 |
100.0% |
|
-631.8 |
-10.8% |
Original Data Sources: Florida Department of Revenue. Data retrieved on 6/19/09. *Note: Sales data values are in millions of dollars.
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