The retail sales data from the first quarter of 2010 looks promising: According to news from the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, sales for Charlottesville improved on first-quarter numbers from 2009.
Tax data compiled from UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center showed that March retail sales in Charlottesville increased 18.1 percent, while sales in Albemarle County rose by 0.86 percent. During the first quarter of 2010, Charlottesville’s retail sales increased 3.11 percent compared to the same months in 2009. For Albemarle, however, retail sales for the same period declined 3.52 percent.
As the region’s retail center, both localities accounted for $468 million in sales for the first quarter of this year—a slight decrease from $469 million of the first quarter of 2009.
According to a chamber news release, the increase is the first positive sign in months. In fact, retail sales in the city declined in 10 out of 12 months in 2009, and 11 out of 12 months in the county.
Other increases noted by the chamber include Augusta County (15.21 percent), Greene County (2.35 percent) and Louisa County (32.68 percent). The chamber attributes the increase in Louisa’s retail sales to the opening of a Walmart Super Store.
