A whopping 22% jump in general-merchandise sales in the first three months of this year was the key to an overall growth in retail sales in Kewanee in the first three months of this year.
Mark Mikenas, executive director of the Kewanee Chamber of Commerce, said overall sales were up 4.6% over the first quarter of 2023.
That’s compared to last year’s sales, which set an all-time record.
Mikenas said the last five or six years have shown steady growth in sales locally; the growth is higher than would be accounted for by inflation, he said.
Mikenas speculated that the boost in general merchandise sales might be due to gift cards that people received for Christmas, since the sale of gift cards isn’t recorded until the cards are used.
Also up sharply were apparel sales (a 15% increase, again possibly due to the use of gift cards) and drugstores and other local retailers, which increased 2.5%.
In contrast, furniture and household goods saw a 13% decrease from the year before. Other declines were in restaurants (2%), lumber and building supplies (3%) and automotive (7%).
