Taxable sales at retail stores jumped 7.9 percent in Spokane County and 6.4 percent in the city of Spokane in the third quarter of 2003, the most recent quarter for which numbers are available.


Sales at retail outlets totaled $889 million in the county and $463 million in the city, up from $823 million and $435 million, respectively, in the year-earlier period, recently released statistics show. The state includes the citys sales in calculating the countys sales total.


The city of Spokane Valley, which incorporated last April, posted sales at retail stores of $357 million in the third quarter.


Retail-industry sales rose 5.2 percent in Pierce County, 6 percent in King County, 5.5 percent in Snohomish County, and 5.6 percent statewide. In the states largest cities, they were up 2.6 percent in Tacoma, 4.9 percent in Seattle, and 3.9 percent in Everett.


Under the states record-keeping system, retail trade includes only sales at retail outlets, while overall taxable retail sales figures include other types of sales, such as in services, construction, contracting, manufacturing, transportation, and communications.


Overall taxable retail sales in Spokane County rose to $1.55 billion for the quarter, up 6.4 percent from $1.46 billion a year earlier. Overall retail sales in the city increased about 6.5 percent to $842 million, up from $790 million. Statewide, they rose to $23.23 billion from $22.26 billion, a jump of 4.3 percent. City sales are included in county sales figures.


In the retail industry, several sectors of the Spokane-area economy notched significant gains in sales, including automobiles, furniture and furnishings, and general merchandise, which includes department and variety stores. The food sector, particularly grocery stores, posted the most significant decline.


Rich Hadley, president and CEO of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, says that the overall growth in taxable sales here may be due to consumer confidence about the recovery of the economy. Low residential mortgage rates also have motivated consumers to refinance and spend more on home improvements, he says.


The growth in building and hardware, department stores, and contracting is very likely associated with what has been a real boom in residential construction and all of the goods and services that people add on, he says.


General-merchandise sales rose by about $24.2 million in the county and $10 million in the city, while department-store sales jumped about $14.4 million in the county and $6.4 million in the city. Building-materials and hardware sales jumped about $11.6 million in the city and $8.2 million in the county.


The growth in those sectors reflects the increased desire to invest more into homes, as consumers visit stores to buy items like couches or gypsum wallboard, Hadley says.


Increased sales in the automobile sector, which posted one of the largest gains, and the electronics-and-music-store sector shows that low mortgage rates prompted consumers to spend more money on recreational and leisure items, Hadley says.


When peoples confidence in the economy is higher, they will spend more of their disposable income on music, electronics, and entertainment, he says.


Auto dealers sales in the county rose to $193.7 million in the third quarter last year, a gain of about $34.1 million from the year-earlier period. In the city of Spokane, they rose to $88.4 million from $75.6 million.


Hadley says the introduction of new products such as DVD camcorders and high-definition television sets also may have spurred the increase in electronics and music store sales, which rose about $10.4 million in the county and $4.5 million in the city.


Unlike most other sectors, grocery store sales lagged in the third quarter last year, dropping by about $16.5 million in the county and by about $8.5 million in the city. Reasons for the apparent decline remain unclear.