Local firms only meet half of demand

Staff Report

Only about half of Tucumcari's demand for retail goods and services is met by local businesses, a “gap analysis” report shows.

The report, compiled by Buxton, a Fort Worth, Texas-based market research firm, was presented to the Greater Tucumcari Economic Development Corporation on Feb. 24.

The report, using statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that $74 million in total local demand was matched by only $37 million in available goods and services locally.

The report also shows that in only one segment, “food service and drinking places,” availability exceeds local demand: $6.4 million in demand is more than matched by the $12.8 million in goods and services merchants make available.

In only two other areas do available goods and service match more than half of the local demand, “building materials and garden equipment and supply dealers,” 85 percent, and “miscellaneous stores and retailers,” 92 percent, the report said.

In other areas, availability of goods and services compared to local demand ranges from 5 percent in “electronics and appliances stores” to 48 percent in general merchandise stores.

Much of the demand that local merchants do not fulfill is satisfied with online purchases, Patrick Vanderpool, executive director of the economic development corporation, said, but some is accommodated by shopping out of town, usually in Amarillo or Albuquerque.

The report, however, demonstrates there is plenty of opportunity for growth in the Tucumcari area's retail sectors, Vanderpool said.