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Retail trade
Retail sales in current dollars increased 1.2% in May to $34.0 billion, more than offsetting a modest decline in April. Sales increased in seven of eight sectors, led by a 2.4% increase in the automotive sector. Retail sales have been generally rising since the beginning of 2009.
In volume terms, retail sales increased 0.7%.
A 3.4% rise in sales at new car dealers was the main contributor to May's increase in the automotive sector, reflecting increased sales of trucks, according to the New Motor Vehicle Sales Survey. Used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers saw their sales rise 1.8% after six months of declines. Sales at gasoline stations advanced 0.9% after decreasing 4.7% over the previous two months.
The building and outdoor home supplies stores sector saw sales increase by 1.0%, double the rate of the previous month. Sales in home centres and hardware stores (+1.1%) rose for the fourth consecutive month. Specialized building materials and garden stores posted a 0.8% gain after decreases in the previous two months.
After declining in April, sales at food and beverage stores rose 0.7%, with all store types registering increases. None of these increases offset April's declines.
Furniture, home furnishings and electronics stores saw their sales rise 0.5%, the first increase in this sector since July 2008. Sales at home furnishings stores (+2.5%) led the increase in May and have been outperforming the other types of stores in this sector since February 2009. A major part of the revenue of home furnishings stores comes from the sales and installation of products related to home renovation and building, such as floor coverings and tiles.
The exception to rising sales was in clothing and accessories stores, where sales were essentially unchanged from April. Clothing stores registered a 0.2% increase in sales, while the decline in shoe, clothing accessories and jewellery stores (-0.7%) was the fourth consecutive decrease for that trade group.
Note to readers
Total retail sales by volume are measured by deflating values in current dollars of the various trade groups using consumer price indexes. This retail sales in chained dollars series (2002) is a chain Fisher volume index with 2002 as the reference year.
Sales up in nine provinces
Retail sales were up in nine provinces in May, largely reflecting higher sales of new motor vehicles. The largest contributor to the national increase was a 1.5% gain in sales in Ontario. Retail sales in Ontario have risen in four of the last five months.
The highest rate of increase was in New Brunswick (+2.5%), where new car dealers reported strong truck sales.
With a 1.0% rise in May, Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province where retail sales have risen every month so far in 2009.
The only province to post a decrease in sales was Prince Edward Island. Its retail sales fell 0.7%, following two months of increases greater than 1%.
Table 1
| May 2008 | February 2009r | March 2009r | April 2009r | May 2009p | April to May 2009 | May 2008 to May 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||||
| $ millions | % change | ||||||
| Automotive | 12,532 | 10,305 | 10,365 | 10,228 | 10,469 | 2.4 | -16.5 |
| New car dealers | 6,316 | 5,259 | 5,449 | 5,398 | 5,584 | 3.4 | -11.6 |
| Used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers | 1,585 | 1,527 | 1,501 | 1,474 | 1,499 | 1.8 | -5.4 |
| Gasoline stations | 4,632 | 3,518 | 3,415 | 3,356 | 3,385 | 0.9 | -26.9 |
| Furniture, home furnishings and electronics stores | 2,613 | 2,377 | 2,375 | 2,355 | 2,367 | 0.5 | -9.4 |
| Furniture stores | 865 | 772 | 772 | 761 | 763 | 0.3 | -11.7 |
| Home furnishings stores | 513 | 446 | 454 | 457 | 469 | 2.5 | -8.5 |
| Computer and software stores | 121 | 107 | 108 | 108 | 107 | -0.3 | -11.6 |
| Home electronics and appliance stores | 1,114 | 1,052 | 1,041 | 1,029 | 1,028 | -0.1 | -7.7 |
| Building and outdoor home supplies stores | 2,269 | 2,197 | 2,191 | 2,201 | 2,223 | 1.0 | -2.0 |
| Home centres and hardware stores | 1,853 | 1,777 | 1,777 | 1,789 | 1,808 | 1.1 | -2.4 |
| Specialized building materials and garden stores | 415 | 420 | 413 | 412 | 415 | 0.8 | -0.1 |
| Food and beverage stores | 7,849 | 8,294 | 8,354 | 8,261 | 8,318 | 0.7 | 6.0 |
| Supermarkets | 5,612 | 6,000 | 6,048 | 5,994 | 6,032 | 0.6 | 7.5 |
| Convenience and specialty food stores | 830 | 847 | 848 | 834 | 840 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Beer, wine and liquor stores | 1,406 | 1,446 | 1,458 | 1,432 | 1,446 | 1.0 | 2.8 |
| Pharmacies and personal care stores | 2,435 | 2,471 | 2,481 | 2,473 | 2,510 | 1.5 | 3.1 |
| Clothing and accessories stores | 1,997 | 1,964 | 1,939 | 1,928 | 1,928 | 0.0 | -3.4 |
| Clothing stores | 1,531 | 1,507 | 1,486 | 1,477 | 1,480 | 0.2 | -3.4 |
| Shoe, clothing accessories and jewellery stores | 465 | 457 | 453 | 451 | 448 | -0.7 | -3.7 |
| General merchandise stores | 4,265 | 4,335 | 4,341 | 4,363 | 4,379 | 0.4 | 2.7 |
| Miscellaneous retailers | 1,825 | 1,821 | 1,816 | 1,836 | 1,850 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores | 911 | 903 | 911 | 914 | 934 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| Miscellaneous store retailers | 914 | 918 | 905 | 922 | 916 | -0.6 | 0.3 |
| Total, retail sales | 35,785 | 33,764 | 33,862 | 33,644 | 34,045 | 1.2 | -4.9 |
| Total, excluding new car dealers, used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers | 27,884 | 26,977 | 26,912 | 26,772 | 26,961 | 0.7 | -3.3 |
| Provinces and territories | |||||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 575 | 579 | 590 | 591 | 597 | 1.0 | 3.7 |
| Prince Edward Island | 143 | 138 | 141 | 143 | 142 | -0.7 | -0.6 |
| Nova Scotia | 1,014 | 975 | 990 | 988 | 993 | 0.5 | -2.1 |
| New Brunswick | 825 | 793 | 801 | 794 | 814 | 2.5 | -1.2 |
| Quebec | 7,976 | 7,659 | 7,761 | 7,621 | 7,712 | 1.2 | -3.3 |
| Ontario | 12,757 | 12,098 | 12,202 | 12,059 | 12,245 | 1.5 | -4.0 |
| Manitoba | 1,250 | 1,206 | 1,204 | 1,200 | 1,213 | 1.1 | -3.0 |
| Saskatchewan | 1,207 | 1,158 | 1,164 | 1,142 | 1,161 | 1.7 | -3.8 |
| Alberta | 5,137 | 4,677 | 4,579 | 4,619 | 4,642 | 0.5 | -9.6 |
| British Columbia | 4,770 | 4,358 | 4,304 | 4,365 | 4,399 | 0.8 | -7.8 |
| Yukon | 44 | 41 | 42 | 41 | 42 | 2.8 | -4.5 |
| Northwest Territories | 59 | 55 | 57 | 54 | 57 | 6.8 | -3.3 |
| Nunavut | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | -2.5 | 3.0 |
It is possible to consult the tables of unadjusted data by industry and by province and territory from the Tables by subject module of our website.
For information on related indicators, refer to the Latest statistics page on our website.
Available on CANSIM: tables 080-0014 to 080-0017.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 2406 and 2408.
The May 2009 issue of the publication Retail Trade (63-005-X, free) will be available shortly.
Data on retail trade for June will be released on August 24.
For more information, or to order data, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-877-421-3067; 613-951-3549; retailinfo@statcan.gc.ca). For analytical information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Mark Switzer (613-951-7137), Distributive Trades Division.
