Statistics Canada reports a decline in retail sales for May, with significant drops in core retail subsectors
Statistics Canada reported that retail sales fell by 0.8 percent to $66.1bn in May, with declines in eight of nine subsectors.
Food and beverage retailers led the decrease. Core retail sales, excluding gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, dropped by 1.4 percent.
In volume terms, retail sales decreased by 0.7 percent. Following a 1.2 percent increase in April, core retail sales fell by 1.4 percent in May.
Food and beverage retailers saw a 1.9 percent decline, with supermarkets and grocery stores dropping by 2.1 percent and beer, wine, and liquor stores down by 3.3 percent.
Building material and garden equipment stores reported a 2.7 percent decrease, and general merchandise retailers saw a 1 percent decline.
Motor vehicle and parts dealers were the only subsector with increased sales, rising by 0.8 percent. New car dealers led this growth with a 1.6 percent increase, while used car dealers saw a 1.8 percent rise.
However, other motor vehicle dealers and automotive parts stores experienced declines of 5 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. Gasoline stations and fuel vendors saw a 0.6 percent drop in sales, though their sales volume increased by 1 percent.
Retail sales decreased in nine provinces, with Alberta experiencing the largest drop at 2.5 percent due to lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
British Columbia's retail sales fell by 1.3 percent, primarily driven by food and beverage retailers, and Vancouver's metropolitan area reported a 1.2 percent decline. Nova Scotia was the only province to see an increase in retail sales, rising by 0.6 percent, led by motor vehicle and parts dealers.
Retail e-commerce sales in Canada decreased by 3.6 percent to $3.9 billion in May, accounting for 5.9 percent of total retail trade, down from 6.1 percent in April.
An advance estimate from Statistics Canada suggests that retail sales decreased by 0.3 percent in June. This preliminary figure, based on responses from 50.3 percent of surveyed companies, will be revised. The average final response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months was 90 percent.
