The shift meant a 5.6 percent drop in store-only retail sales in the county during the first quarter, which ended in March. Local quarterly sales totaled $457.6 million, down $26.9 million from the $484.5 million in the first three months of 2007, according to the Washington Department of Revenue.

By comparison, statewide retail-store sales fell only 1.9 percent as compared to the first quarter of last year.

This is the largest percentage decline in retail sales in the county since the early 1980s, said Mike Gowrylow, revenue department information officer.

The bigger drop in Clark County sales is mostly tied to the county’s abundance of automobile dealers, who bore the brunt of the sales decline. Auto sales were down $10.8 million, or 12.5 percent, from last year.

“That’s probably what contributed to the greater drop in sales here when compared to other areas of the state that have fewer auto dealers,” said Pamela Lindloff, a retail expert with NAI Norris Beggs & Simpson commercial real estate in Vancouver.

Furniture and home improvement stores also saw first-quarter declines from last year, a trend fueled by softening home sales and tighter mortgage lending, Lindloff said.

Home improvement store sales were down 13.7 percent to $47.97 million.

“People don’t have the equity in their homes that they can draw out to make larger purchases. That means there’s less income for people to spend,” she said.

At the same time, the state report showed Clark County consumers spent more on food at grocery stores and cut spending on new clothing.

Clark County department store sales dropped 13.6 percent in the quarter from $35.2 million to $30.5 million, while grocery store sales registered a 4.2 percent increase to $37.27 million, said the revenue department report.

“The reality is that people are still eating, but they’re having to spend more money to eat. That means something’s got to give,” Lindloff said.

Others took the fuel-efficient or convenient approach by shopping online. The county saw an 18.9 percent increase in online trade during the first quarter, when e-commerce sales jumped to $5.8 million, up from $4.8 million.

“A lot of the (online) stores are offering to pay the postage for you,” Lindloff said. “So a lot regular shoppers are taking advantage of that.”

CAMI JONER covers retail for The Columbian. She can be reached at 360-735-4532 or via e-mail at
cami.joner@columbian.com.