Taxable retail sales throughout Spokane County increased 7 percent through the first half of this year, compared with the year-earlier period, county budget and finance office statistics show. 

Through six months, businesses in Spokane County had $4.6 billion in retail sales, up from $4.3 billion in the first half of 2015, the data indicate.

“Sales are up at both of our stores this year,” says Andy Dinnison, who owns both Boo Radley’s, at 232 N. Howard, and the neighboring Atticus Coffee & Gifts. 

“I would guess Boo Radley’s probably up 3 to 5 percent, and Atticus 5 to 10 percent,” Dinnison says. 

He says business traffic increased in the area during the downtown Macy’s closure sale and—surprisingly—has continued. 

“We’ve been doing well even after that sale ended,” he says. “Now with construction, again we may lose some parking space for a while, but we’ll just have to see what happens.”  

Taxable sales figures from the Spokane County budget and finance office show that each month from January through June of this year outperformed the coinciding month of 2015.

Taxable retail sales in the county in January were $650 million compared to $605 million for the same month last year, and in February and March they were $671 million and $798 million, respectively, compared with $631 million and $739 million compared to the year-earlier months.  

Similarly, taxable sales were up in April, $766 million from $698 million in the same month last year; in May, $783 million from $734 million, and in June, $890 million from $852 million.  

In the first quarter, taxable retail sales in the county exceeded the same period last year by 7.5 percent, at $2 billion, up from $1.86 billion, statistics show.

John Waite, who took over ownership of downtown’s Auntie’s bookstore three months ago, says his sales sales so far are up moderately from last year. 

“Much of our ups and downs are driven by book releases and events,” he says. 

In addition to Auntie’s, Waite is also the longtime owner of Merlyn’s Comics & Games at 15 W. Main, which he says hasn’t been doing quite as well this first half of the year. 

“Merlyn’s is down this year mostly because of the ongoing construction on Main and Division this last three months,” he says. “It will be nice once it’s done, but it’s difficult right now.” 

Waite says he’d like to see the city work more closely with businesses and neighborhoods on planning and communicating construction projects. 

“We are all excited to see progress in our downtown, but need it done in a more organized and efficient manner,” he says. “I hope to talk to the city leaders and have a round table discussion on better ways to organize, communicate and execute these operations.”

Meanwhile, Ryan Johnson, co-owner of Fringe & Fray, a boutique clothing store at 1325 W 1st Ave,  says the neighborhood along First Avenue downtown also has seen a lot of new business, despite the street having lost several shops for various reasons. 

“The first half of this year, we’re up about 10 percent, which I think is encouraging,” he says. “I’m not sure whether it’s just the market or if people are just starting to find us more easily.” 

Johnson says it will also be interesting to see how upcoming construction projects affect business. 

“There’s a new stormwater tank going in nearby, so that might affect shopping here a bit,” he says. “I know the city needs it, but I can’t say we’re looking forward to more construction.”

Margaret Smith, a senior management and budget analyst with the county, says the figures don’t provide a breakdown of tax proceeds collected by each city within the county.  

However, Washington state Department of Revenue data lists the cities of Spokane, Spokane Valley, and Spokane County as having $93 million, $43 million, and $20 million in total taxes due for the first quarter of 2016, according to the latest figures available. 

The DOR reported last month that the state’s taxable retail sales totals grew to $32 billion in the first quarter of 2016, an 8.9 percent increase compared with the same period in 2015. Retail trade, a subset of total taxable retail sales, rose 4.5 percent to $13.9 billion.

King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, and Clark counties had taxable retail sales percentage increases of 10.7 percent, 8.7 percent, 9.4 percent, 7.5 percent, and 9.7 percent for the quarter. 

King had taxable retail sales of $13.4 billion; Pierce, $3.4 billion; Snohomish, $3 billion; Spokane, $2.1 billion, and Clark, $1.4 billion respectively, the revenue department report says. 

The DOR is the state’s primary tax administration agency. In fiscal year 2015, it says it collected more than $20.8 billion in tax revenues.