Retail sales in Canada decreased 1.2 percent from a month earlier in October 2019, following a revised flat reading in the previous month and against market expectations of a 0.5 percent gain. It was the sharpest decline in retail activity since November last year, mainly due to lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (-3.2 percent), in particular new car dealers (-3 percent) and used car dealers (-5.2 percent); and at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (-3.1 percent). Also, food and beverage stores posted a decrease in receipts (-0.4 percent), mainly attributable to beer, wine and liquor stores (-1.8 percent). In contrast, sales at gasoline stations rose 1.5 percent, primarily reflecting higher prices at the pump. Year-on-year, retail trade shrank 0.6 percent. Retail Sales MoM in Canada averaged 0.36 percent from 1991 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 3.70 percent in December of 1997 and a record low of -4.50 percent in January of 1998. source: Statistics Canada

Retail Sales MoM in Canada is expected to be 0.20 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Retail Sales MoM in Canada to stand at 0.30 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Canada Retail Sales MoM is projected to trend around 0.30 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.

Ok
Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

The Trading Economics Application Programming Interface (API) provides direct access to our data. It allows API clients to download millions of rows of historical data, to query our real-time economic calendar, subscribe to updates and receive quotes for currencies, commodities, stocks and bonds.

API Features Documentation Interested? Click here to contact us
Please Paste this Code in your Website
width
height
 Preview
Canada Retail Sales MoM

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-1.20 0.00 3.70 -4.50 1991 - 2019 percent Monthly



Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2019-09-20 12:30 PM Jul 0.4% -0.1% 0.6% 0.4%
2019-10-22 12:30 PM Aug -0.1% 0.6% 0.4% 0.2%
2019-11-22 01:30 PM Sep -0.1% 0.1% -0.1% 0.2%
2019-12-20 01:30 PM Oct -1.2% 0% 0.5% 0.1%
2020-01-24 01:30 PM Nov -1.2% 0.5% 0.4%
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
2019-11-22
Canada Retail Sales Fall 0.1% in September
Retail sales in Canada decreased 0.1 percent month-over-month in September 2019, after an upwardly revised 0.1 percent gain in the previous month and matching market expectations. It was the first decline in retail trade in three months, as sales dropped at motor vehicle & parts dealers (-1 percent), namely new car dealers (-1.9 percent); and gasoline stations (-2.3 percent). On the other hand, receipts increased at food & beverage stores (1.2 percent), in particular at supermarkets & other grocery stores (1.1 percent) and beer, wine & liquor (3.2 percent); and building material & garden equipment and supplies dealers (3.3 percent). Year-on-year, retail trade went up 1 percent, slowing from an upwardly revised 1.3 percent rise in August. Considering the third quarter as a whole, retail sales advanced 0.5 percent, easing from a 1.1 percent gain in the prior quarter.

2019-10-22
Canada Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall
Retail sales in Canada fell 0.1 percent month-over-month in August 2019, following an upwardly revised 0.6 percent rise in July and missing market expectations of a 0.4 percent gain. Sales dropped at food & beverage stores (-0.8 percent), namely supermarkets & other grocery stores (-0.8 percent), beer, wine & liquor (-1.9 percent), and convenience stores (-0.1 percent). Also, sales at gasoline stations declined for the second time in the last three months (-0.4 percent); and receipts at building material & garden equipment and supplies dealers went down for the second consecutive month (-0.5 percent). On the other hand, sales at both general merchandise stores (0.8 percent) and motor vehicle & parts dealers (0.1 percent) increased. In addition, sales at cannabis stores advanced 18.6 percent, the second double-digit increase in a row and the fifth double-digit rise in the last six months. Year-on-year, retail trade rose 1.1 percent, easing from an upwardly revised 1.4 percent in July.

2019-09-20
Canada Retail Sales Rebound in July
Retail sales in Canada rose 0.4 percent month-over-month in July 2019, rebounding from a downwardly revised 0.1 percent decline in June but missing market expectations of a 0.6 percent gain. It was the first increase in retail trade in three months, mostly driven by sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (1.5 percent), as sales at new car dealers (2.4 percent) more than offset sales at automotive parts, accessories and tire stores (-2.4 percent), other motor vehicle dealers (-2.3 percent) and used car dealers (-1.0 percent). Also, sales increased at health & personal care stores (2.6 percent); food & beverage (0.6 percent), namely supermarkets & other grocery (0.9 percent); and gasoline stations (0.3 percent). In addition, miscellaneous store retailers were up 1.7 percent in July, boosted by cannabis (14.3 percent), as sales at cannabis stores exceeded CAD 100 million for the first time. Year-on-year, retail trade went up 1.2 percent, after a 1 percent rise in June.

2019-08-23
Canada Retail Sales Unchanged in June
Retail sales in Canada were unchanged in June 2019, following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent fall in the previous month and slightly above market forecasts of a 0.1 percent decline. Stronger sales across most subsectors were offset by lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (-2.5 percent), mostly due to new car dealers (-3.2 percent); and gasoline stations (-3.4 percent). Sales picked up at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (6.0 percent) and general merchandise stores (3.0 percent). Also, sales increased at both clothing and clothing accessories stores (4.2 percent) and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (3.7 percent), due to inclement weather in May and coincided with the Toronto Raptors playing in and winning the NBA championship in June. Year-on-year, retail trade advanced 1 percent, easing from a downwardly revised 0.7 percent gain in the prior month.

2019-07-19
Canada Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall in May
Retail sales in Canada fell 0.1 percent month-over-month in May 2019, following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent gain in the previous month and missing market expectations of a 0.3 percent rise. It was the first fall in retail trade in four months, as sales dropped at food and beverage stores (-2.0 percent), namely supermarkets and other grocery stores (-2.0 percent) and beer, wine and liquor stores (-2.7 percent); clothing and clothing accessories stores (-2.7 percent) and general merchandise stores (-1.1 percent). Meanwhile, sales at gasoline stations increased for the fourth consecutive month (3.5 percent); and receipts at motor vehicle and parts dealers advanced 0.5 percent, as lower sales at new car dealers (-0.1 percent) were offset by a rise in all other store types. Additionally, sales at cannabis stores (14.8 percent) rose, surpassing CAD 85 million. Year-on-year, retail trade went up 1 percent, slowing from an upwardly revised 3.8 percent increase in the prior month.

2019-06-21
Canada Retail Sales Rise Less than Expected in April
Retail sales in Canada rose 0.1 percent month-over-month in April 2019, following an upwardly revised 1.3 percent gain in the previous month but below market expectations of a 0.2 percent increase. Sales at both gasoline stations (1.2 percent) and food and beverage stores (0.4 percent). Additionally, sales advanced at beer, wine and liquor (2.4 percent); specialty food stores (1.0 percent); and motor vehicle and parts dealers (0.1 percent) namely new car dealers (1.2 percent). Also, receipts at miscellaneous store retailers (2.8 percent), which include pet stores, used merchandise stores and cannabis stores, rose for the second straight month. Meanwhile, sales dropped at supermarkets and other grocery (-0.1 percent); convenience stores (-0.6 percent); building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (-2.6 percent) and clothing and clothing accessories (-1.5 percent). Year-on-year, retail trade went up 3.7 percent, after an upwardly revised 2.9 percent rise in March.


Canada Retail Sales MoM
In Canada, the Retail sales report provides an aggregated measure of sales of retail goods and services over a specific time period. In Canada, Retail sales are seasonal, volatile and relatively important to the overall economy.

Canada Consumer Last Previous Highest Lowest Unit
Consumer Confidence 51.50 53.18 57.05 46.80 points [+]
Retail Sales MoM -1.20 0.00 3.70 -4.50 percent [+]
Retail Sales YoY -0.60 1.00 10.50 -6.50 percent [+]
Retail Sales Ex Autos -0.50 -0.10 3.30 -3.20 percent [+]
Consumer Spending 1180781.00 1176249.00 1180781.00 182407.00 CAD Million [+]
Disposable Personal Income 1298848.00 1271464.00 1298848.00 24872.00 CAD Million [+]
Personal Savings 3.20 1.70 21.60 0.30 percent [+]
Consumer Credit 638549.00 639989.00 639989.00 11066.00 CAD Million [+]
Private Sector Credit 4500784.00 4496633.00 4500784.00 74836.00 CAD Million [+]
Bank Lending Rate 3.95 3.95 22.75 2.25 percent [+]
Households Debt To GDP 102.13 101.30 102.13 52.46 percent of GDP [+]
Households Debt To Income 174.01 174.05 174.05 83.56 percent [+]
Gasoline Prices 0.91 0.88 1.32 0.41 USD/Liter [+]