As a part of its mission to inform the public of business activity, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce released the 2025 Q1 Retail Report. The report indicates 2025 retail (and internet) sales were tepid or negative in all seven Central Virginia localities tracked by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.
In total, the localities studied collected $126,785 (-.18%) less in retail sales tax in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Louisa County saw the largest percentage decrease (-8.12%), Greene (3.01%) and Albemarle (2.03%) showed tepid growth while Augusta, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, and Waynesboro all decreased in sales tax revenue compared to 2024 Q1.
Chamber CEO Andrea Copeland stated, “While weather may have had an impact on the first quarter numbers, our members tell us they and their customers continue to feel the impact of economic uncertainty. It is too early to call the results of the 2025 Q1 Retail Report a trend, but it raises significant concerns.”
The 2025 Q1 Retail Report data is based on the Virginia Department of Taxation’s Local Option Sales Tax Data. According to the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service’s Center for Economic Policy Studies:…