The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce has just released data from the first three quarters for 2008 of the region’s retail sales activity. Good news for Augusta, Greene, Louisa and Waynesboro. Bad news for Albemarle and Charlottesville.
The Virginia Department of Taxation sales tax data, which was compiled from UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center, painted a grim picture for our immediate region.
Retail sales through the month of September in Albemarle County and Charlottesville fell 3.74 percent over the same period last year.
Surrounding localities, however, have seen strong gains. Augusta and Greene County’s retail sales have risen 6.5 percent and 2.6, respectively. The city of Waynesboro has seen an increase of 5.7 percent, but the biggest gain was recorded in Louisa County, with a leap of 19 percent.
Perhaps predictably, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce connects shopping locally this holiday season to surviving the national financial crisis.
“Our local consumers can defy national trends by keeping our confidence in our regional economy and local retailers. Starting now through the Holiday Season, our Chamber encourages consumers to support our local economy,” said Christopher Lee, of Piedmont Virginia Companies, who chairs the Chamber’s board. “Our area has always weathered economic storms well, in large part because our citizens believe in the vitality and sustainability of our economic community. Together we can do more than just survive, we can thrive.”
So how does that change your shopping plans?
