by Betty Beard - Feb. 19, 2012 06:39 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Arizona retail sales reached $5.16 billion in December -- the first time in four years that they hit or surpassed the $5 billion mark in that month.
The latest numbers from the Arizona Department of Revenue indicate that December retail sales have finally returned to their pre-recession levels and also to numbers that were more typical before the boom of the mid-2000s.
Still, Arizona State University economist Dennis Hoffman of the W.P. Carey School of Business said he was disappointed that sales in December were only only about 3.7 percent above the previous year. He had hoped for about a 5 percent increase.
"It is not a disastrous story. It is a clear indication that this recovery is going to be moderately paced. It is not going to be a robust recovery," he said. "There are no signs of euphoria among the consumers."
The best news is that consumers continue to buy motor vehicles as auto sales rose about 9 percent over the previous year, he said.
Hoffman also said retail sales might have been higher if there had not been a lot of discounting. There is no way to determine how much that affected sales, he said.
"So some of this could have been consumers actually stepping up to the plate and getting all the products they want and need at a pretty robust pace. But they are more frugal in going after the bargains and taking advantage of the competitive pressures that exist in retail," he said.
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