Shopping facts for Fayetteville
Shoppers spent $3.3 billion in Cumberland County during 2010, according to state figures for taxable sales.
That was up 13.6 percent from 2009 - the highest growth in spending among all North Carolina's urban counties except Durham, where sales grew 17 percent. In fact, spending grew only 0.6 percent in Wake County from 2009 to 2010, and 11.1 percent in Mecklenburg.
North Carolina has two tax-free weekends each year. One falls on the first Friday-through-Sunday weekend in August and covers many back-to-school items such as clothes, computers, education supplies and sports gear. The second applies to Energy Star-qualified products, on the first Friday-through-Sunday weekend in November. You'll pay no sales tax on washers, freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners, ceiling fans and other items rated as Energy Star efficient. For details, go to dornc.com/taxes/sales/holidays.html.