Whether it’s because of the holiday season or some other factors, the last three months of 2023 brought in more money than any other quarter for many retailers in Connecticut, according to state tax data.
Nonstore retailers, including e-commerce such as Amazon; miscellaneous store retailers such as florists and pet shops, and general merchandise stores such as Walmart and Target are the three types of retailers with the largest sales during those months. Those stores alone took in more than $1 billion just in fourth-quarter sales. Nonstore retailers sold over $4.5 billion, while miscellaneous stores sold almost $2.6 billion.
Of the selected sectors, the only one in 2023 that had its sales peak outside of holiday season were building material and garden supply stores. For those, the sales peaked between April and June.Â
In 2024 so far, retail sales during the first two quarters of the year, from January to June, were higher than in previous years. From January to March, retail sales reached $8.05 billion in 2024, passing the $7.94 billion sales in 2023 and higher than in previous years. From April to June, retail sales in 2024 were $9.04 billion, passing the $8.84 billion in 2023 and the $8.96 billion in 2022.