• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Business / ISU study finds retail sales decline in Iowa

ISU study finds retail sales decline in Iowa

June 14, 2008 By admin

An Iowa State University study of retail sales in the state shows a decline in the last seven years. Economist Meghan O’Brien says their report gives a better picture of sales. Adjusted for inflation, sales have declined 2.7 percent since 2000. She says without the adjustment for inflation, retail sales look like they are up 15 percent.

O’Brien, who works for ISU’s Regional Capacity Analysis Program, says rural areas of Iowa saw the biggest decline as people move and the population ages in rural areas. O’Brien says that and other changes in the economy have accelerated the decline in rural areas.

O’Brien says it’s not just the rural areas that have seen a retail sales decline, as Des Moines has also seen a decline. She says suburban areas have seen an increase in sales. O’Brien says the ancillary cities to the metro cities have seen the increase. For example, Altoona has seen a nearly 200 percent increase, and other cities like Grimes and Ankeny, the "commuter towns" have had increases.

O’Brien says rural areas are going to have to adjust the way they do business. She says it’s probably going to take a change in thinking, where small towns are going to have to pool services instead of trying to maintain a retail store front in one town. O’Brien says if small towns have a retailer that has products that are marketable, they have to find a way to get their goods to retail centers where they can be sold.

The complete report can be found on the ReCAP website .

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: Iowa State University

Featured Stories

ISU survey finds farmland value up slightly

Senator Grassley: Justice Department report confirms abuse of power by FBI

Ankeny man charged for shooting 6 trumpeter swans

DNR asks hunters for deer samples to continue CWD monitoring

Biden calls man quizzing him at town hall ‘a damn liar’

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Upper Iowa football coach Tom Shea steps down

Hawkeyes and Cyclones both face big name bowl opponents

Iowa State’s Campbell agrees to contract extension

Epenesa and Duncan honored by B1G

Iowa’s Nunge sidelined by knee injury

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2019 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC