Tri-Cities shoppers continue to buy less. The ETSU Bureau of Business and Economic Research released its retail sales report for the third quarter Wednesday. There weren't many surprises.
The Tri-Cities metro area saw a 4.1 percent drop in retail sales from 2008 levels. Kingsport suffered the largest decline at 8.3 percent, while sales dropped by 4.9 percent in Johnson City, and 4.2 percent in Bristol.
Economist Doctor Steb Hipple said those declines show consumer confidence, a necessary ingredient for economic recovery, is still low. But, that may be changing. "Data we now have for October and November is suggesting a rebound at national level and I hope that would spill over into the local level," said Hipple.
Dr. Hipple expects the economy to begin recovering in February or March of next year.
For a full video report, click play above.
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