State of Illinois retail numbers for 2024 have been released. Knox County Area Partnership President Ken Springer informs numbers were a mixed bag:
“We always track those and see if the different metros are either growing or shrinking on the retail sales tax receipts side. It was kind of a mixed bag for 2024. Galesburg ended on a positive note with a 3 percent increase in retail sales; small decreases in the grocery category, building materials, and the furniture categories, but the rest of the other seven categories were positive growth for the year, so Galesburg was up 3 percent on the year. Monmouth had a little bit of a tougher year. Monmouth ended 2024 down 3.8 percent in overall retail receipts. The dragging categories for Monmouth were the automotive category, as well as drug stores, miscellaneous retail, and the furniture and household goods categories were negative for Monmouth, but the rest of them were positive, little bit of a mixed bag there.”
In other areas of the downstate metro, Springer reports retail numbers in Normal were down 11.4 percent and Bloomington was down 7.1 percent in 2024, while Rockford showed a 6.2 percent growth, Urbana was up 5.9 percent, and Moline was up 5.2 percent in overall retail receipts.
