Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Retail sales in Lafayette Parish are continuing to rise in 2011, with the first three months besting 2010's first quarter by 9.62 percent.
February's 8.64 percent rise in retail spending was the first sign of what might be a sizeable turnaround in retail activity, and March's 11 percent increase over March 2010 and 24 percent increase over sales a month ago is reason to believe a trend may be developing in this important economic measure.
Total retail sales in March were $475 million, compared with $382 million in February and $427 million in March a year ago.
In 2010, the parish ended up a small 0.78 percent, thanks in large part to a strong showing in December. December spending topped the $517 million mark, making it the fourth highest month on record for the parish, and total sales for the year were $4.8 billion. - Leslie Turk
Feb-10 $348,790,877 Mar-10 $427,026,295 April-10 $395,713,067 May-10 $392,280,421 Jun-10 $421,643,265 July-10 $381,829,604 Aug-10 $390,761,830 Sept-10 $420,127,826 Oct-10 $390,628,355 Nov-10 $403,997,867 Dec-10 $517,947,093 Jan-11 $369,759,200 Feb-11 $382,025,400 Mar-11 $474,896,101