COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA (January 20, 2023) -- Recently released numbers from Cochise Economic Development show that in November 2022, Cochise County’s retail, restaurant and bar, and hotel/motel receipts were up from November 2021, after adjusting for inflation. November’s increases followed six consecutive months of year-over-year decline across the three largest categories of taxable sales countywide.
Estimated retail sales in Cochise County were up 1.8% from November 2021 (compared to a 5.5% decrease for all of Arizona). For the first 11 months of 2022, Cochise County’s retail sales were down 1.6% while statewide sales were down 1.1% (compared to January through November 2021).
Inflation continued to play a major, though somewhat lessening, role in determining the direction and magnitude of changes in sales estimates, subtracting 7.1 percentage points from growth rates for the November comparisons and 8.1 points for January-November. As a result, Cochise County’s nominal retail sales increase of 8.9% in the November comparisons was adjusted downward to 1.8%, while year-to-date nominal growth of 6.6% became a 1.6% inflation-adjusted decline. Inflation adjustments are made using CPI-U measuring the general rate of inflation.
Cochise County's restaurant and bar sales were up 13.8% in November, after inflation, but were down 0.4% for the first 11 months. Statewide, Arizona's restaurant and bar sales were up 3.7% in November and 8.1% for January through November.
Cochise County’s hotel/motel receipts were up 8.8% in the November comparisons and 7.6% for the first 11 months. Statewide, lodging receipts were up 5.0% in November and 21.1% for the January-through-November period.
Sales by remote sellers (those without a physical presence in Arizona and with annual gross sales in-state of $100,000 or more) were up 5.1% in Cochise County in November, after inflation, compared to a 5.8% increase statewide. For the first 11 months of 2022, remote sales were up 2.1% in Cochise County and 12.2% statewide.
At the city level, estimated retail sales in Benson were up 4.5% in November, after inflation, and 1.0% for the first 11 months of 2022. Restaurant and bar sales were up 1.7% in November but were down 7.6% for January through November. Hotel/motel receipts in Benson were down 0.7% in November and 2.1% for the first 11 months of the year.
In Bisbee, retail sales were down 14.4% in the November comparisons and 12.7% for the first 11 months, after inflation. Restaurant and bar sales nearly doubled (up 95.7%) in November and were up 35.5% for January through November. Bisbee’s hotel/motel receipts were up 13.2% in November and 55.5% for the first 11 months of 2022.
In Douglas, retail sales were down 4.8% in the November comparisons but were up 0.8% for the first 11 months. Restaurant and bar sales were up 42.2% in November and 3.2% for January through November. (Hotel/motel estimates are unavailable for Douglas due to the small number of establishments and state department of revenue confidentiality rules.)
Huachuca City’s retail sales were down 11.0% in the November comparisons and 2.0% for the first 11 months of 2022. (Restaurant and bar and hotel/motel estimates are not available for Huachuca City due to the small number of businesses and tax confidentiality rules.)
Retail sales in Sierra Vista were up 3.0% in November but down 2.6% for the first 11 months, after the inflation adjustment. Restaurant and bar sales were up 8.5% in November but down 3.2% for January through November. Sierra Vista’s hotel/motel receipts were up 15.0% in November and 8.4% for the first 11 months of the year.
Tombstone’s retail sales were down 8.1% in November and 9.1% for the first 11 months of 2022. Restaurant and bar sales were down 6.5% in November and 11.8% for January through November. Hotel/motel receipts in Tombstone were up 13.1% in November but down 0.4% for the first 11 months.
In Willcox, estimated retail sales were up 38.6% in the November comparisons and 6.1% for the first 11 months of the year. Restaurant and bar sales were up 29.0% in November and 2.2% for January through November. Willcox hotel/motel receipts were down 23.2% in November and 6.3% for the first 11 months of 2022, after adjusting for inflation.