Santa Monica retail sales down a third since pandemic
A new RAND study finds taxable sales still 32.8 percent below pre-pandemic levels, with clothing down 75 percent and home furnishings down 67 percent.
By Hans Laetz
The retail spiral in Santa Monica continues to go down. Retail sales there have fallen by about one third from before the pandemic and are still declining. Santa Monica's storefront and office vacancy rates remain among the highest in the region, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Taxable sales at Santa Monica businesses are only 89 percent of what they were 10 years ago. They fell by 60 percent immediately after the pandemic. In current sales volumes, taxable sales are down 32.8 percent for most goods in Santa Monica — a loss of about $1 billion.
Clothing and accessory sales are down by 75 percent, restaurant and bar sales are down by 24 percent, and home furnishings are down by 67 percent.
The authors say business closures, including the departures of large retailers from Santa Monica Place mall and the Third Street Promenade, are the major source of the decline.
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