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Retail trade
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Retail sales in current dollars rose 0.8% in October to $35.3 billion, the eighth gain in 10 months. Excluding the automotive sector, sales edged down 0.2%.
In volume terms, retail sales increased 0.6% in October. The volume of retail sales has returned to a level last observed before the sharp declines in the last two months of 2008.
All components of the automotive sector (+3.0%) reported higher sales in October. Sales at new car dealers rose for the sixth consecutive month, gaining 3.6%. It was the first month where the value of sales at new car dealers was higher in 2009 than in 2008. While gasoline stations (+2.5%) registered higher sales for a third consecutive month, their sales level continued to be well below the price-driven peak reached in the summer of 2008. Sales at used and recreational motor vehicles and parts dealers (+2.1%) increased for a sixth consecutive month.
Excluding the automotive sector, retail sales edged down 0.2% in October. Higher sales in five of the seven non-automotive sectors were more than offset by declines in the food and beverage (-1.2%) and pharmacies and personal care (-0.9%) sectors. Supermarket sales were down 1.1%, partially offsetting gains made in September. Sales at beer, wine and liquor stores fell 2.2% after increases in August and September.
The largest increase outside the automotive sector was at clothing and accessories stores, where sales advanced 1.9%, the biggest gain since January 2009. Sales at clothing stores rose 1.6% after recording relatively stable sales since May. Shoe, clothing accessories and jewellery stores (+2.8%) registered a third consecutive month of strong sales increases.
Building and outdoor home supplies stores saw their sales rise 1.2%. This growth was led by sales at home centres and hardware stores (+1.8%). Sales for this store type have been following an upward trend since the beginning of 2009.
Sales at general merchandisers edged up 0.2% in October after a strong increase in September.
Sales up in seven provinces
Retail sales rose in seven provinces in October. Ontario (+1.3%) was the largest contributor to the increase with a fifth gain in six months.
Sales rose 0.5% in the Atlantic provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador (+1.2%) and Nova Scotia (+0.7%).
British Columbia sales increased 1.9%, continuing the upward trend observed since the beginning of 2009.
Note to readers
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted and are expressed in current dollars unless otherwise specified.
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.
After strong gains in September, sales were flat in New Brunswick and Quebec, while they were down in Prince Edward Island (-1.7%).
Table 1
| October 2008 | July 2009r | August 2009r | September 2009r | October 2009p | September to October 2009 | October 2008 to October 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||||
| $ millions | % change | ||||||
| Automotive | 12,237 | 10,739 | 11,025 | 11,176 | 11,513 | 3.0 | -5.9 |
| New car dealers | 6,114 | 5,696 | 5,844 | 5,927 | 6,140 | 3.6 | 0.4 |
| Used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers | 1,657 | 1,538 | 1,543 | 1,571 | 1,603 | 2.1 | -3.3 |
| Gasoline stations | 4,465 | 3,506 | 3,639 | 3,678 | 3,769 | 2.5 | -15.6 |
| Furniture, home furnishings and electronics stores | 2,537 | 2,395 | 2,388 | 2,410 | 2,419 | 0.4 | -4.6 |
| Furniture stores | 824 | 785 | 790 | 799 | 801 | 0.2 | -2.8 |
| Home furnishings stores | 492 | 475 | 474 | 486 | 496 | 2.1 | 0.8 |
| Computer and software stores | 116 | 102 | 98 | 103 | 99 | -4.1 | -14.5 |
| Home electronics and appliance stores | 1,105 | 1,033 | 1,027 | 1,023 | 1,024 | 0.1 | -7.4 |
| Building and outdoor home supplies stores | 2,263 | 2,231 | 2,245 | 2,239 | 2,265 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
| Home centres and hardware stores | 1,838 | 1,831 | 1,839 | 1,828 | 1,861 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
| Specialized building materials and garden stores | 424 | 400 | 406 | 411 | 405 | -1.5 | -4.7 |
| Food and beverage stores | 8,144 | 8,220 | 8,272 | 8,357 | 8,259 | -1.2 | 1.4 |
| Supermarkets | 5,885 | 5,919 | 5,922 | 5,997 | 5,930 | -1.1 | 0.8 |
| Convenience and specialty food stores | 843 | 840 | 848 | 838 | 840 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| Beer, wine and liquor stores | 1,415 | 1,460 | 1,503 | 1,522 | 1,489 | -2.2 | 5.2 |
| Pharmacies and personal care stores | 2,461 | 2,574 | 2,568 | 2,570 | 2,547 | -0.9 | 3.5 |
| Clothing and accessories stores | 1,980 | 1,931 | 1,939 | 1,942 | 1,979 | 1.9 | -0.1 |
| Clothing stores | 1,508 | 1,486 | 1,488 | 1,484 | 1,508 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| Shoe, clothing accessories and jewellery stores | 472 | 445 | 451 | 458 | 471 | 2.8 | -0.3 |
| General merchandise stores | 4,355 | 4,369 | 4,346 | 4,432 | 4,439 | 0.2 | 1.9 |
| Miscellaneous retailers | 1,806 | 1,833 | 1,832 | 1,874 | 1,874 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores | 880 | 940 | 936 | 955 | 945 | -1.0 | 7.4 |
| Miscellaneous store retailers | 926 | 894 | 896 | 919 | 929 | 1.1 | 0.3 |
| Total retail sales | 35,781 | 34,292 | 34,616 | 35,000 | 35,295 | 0.8 | -1.4 |
| Total, excluding new car dealers, used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers | 28,009 | 27,059 | 27,229 | 27,502 | 27,551 | 0.2 | -1.6 |
| Provinces and territories | |||||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 609 | 611 | 601 | 623 | 630 | 1.2 | 3.5 |
| Prince Edward Island | 145 | 141 | 142 | 148 | 146 | -1.7 | 0.4 |
| Nova Scotia | 1,015 | 1,005 | 1,022 | 1,038 | 1,045 | 0.7 | 2.9 |
| New Brunswick | 840 | 813 | 841 | 855 | 855 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| Quebec | 8,041 | 7,876 | 7,933 | 8,090 | 8,079 | -0.1 | 0.5 |
| Ontario | 12,718 | 12,254 | 12,399 | 12,483 | 12,650 | 1.3 | -0.5 |
| Manitoba | 1,278 | 1,245 | 1,249 | 1,258 | 1,271 | 1.0 | -0.5 |
| Saskatchewan | 1,226 | 1,166 | 1,184 | 1,178 | 1,194 | 1.4 | -2.6 |
| Alberta | 5,081 | 4,629 | 4,621 | 4,626 | 4,631 | 0.1 | -8.9 |
| British Columbia | 4,696 | 4,422 | 4,492 | 4,570 | 4,659 | 1.9 | -0.8 |
| Yukon | 45 | 43 | 45 | 44 | 45 | 2.7 | 1.0 |
| Northwest Territories | 59 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 2.0 | 5.7 |
| Nunavut | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 2.0 | -0.5 |
It is possible to consult 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 October 2009 issue of the publication Retail Trade (63-005-X, free) will soon be available.
Data on retail trade for November will be released on January 22, 2010.
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 Jake Purdy (613-951-0984), Distributive Trades Division.
