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Retail trade, July 2016

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Released: 2016-09-23

Retail sales — Canada

$44.1 billion

July 2016

-0.1% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — N.L.

$0.7 billion

July 2016

-6.2% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — P.E.I.

$0.2 billion

July 2016

-0.1% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — N.S.

$1.2 billion

July 2016

0.6% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — N.B.

$1.0 billion

July 2016

-6.9% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — Que.

$9.4 billion

July 2016

0.2% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — Ont.

$16.1 billion

July 2016

0.8% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — Man.

$1.6 billion

July 2016

-0.9% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — Sask.

$1.6 billion

July 2016

-3.3% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — Alta.

$6.1 billion

July 2016

-0.8% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales — B.C.

$6.3 billion

July 2016

0.9% 

(monthly change)

Retail sales were relatively unchanged for the third consecutive month in July, edging down 0.1% to $44.1 billion.

Sales were down in 5 of 11 subsectors. Excluding gasoline stations, retail sales increased 0.2%.

After removing the effects of price changes, retail sales in volume terms were up 0.3% in July.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Retail sales edge down in July
Retail sales edge down in July

Lower gas prices contribute to weaker sales at gasoline stations

Receipts at gasoline stations (-3.0%) fell for the first time in four months, with weaker sales recorded in every province. This decline reflected lower prices at the pump. According to the Consumer Price Index, the price of gasoline was down 5.6% on an unadjusted monthly basis in July.

Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores decreased 1.4%, as both furniture stores and home furnishings stores reported 1.4% declines.

Motor vehicle and parts dealers (-0.2%) recorded their fourth decline in five months. Within the subsector, sales at other motor vehicle dealers fell 4.1%. Sales at automotive parts, accessories and tire stores decreased 1.6%. Sales at new car dealers (+0.2%) were up for the second month in a row. Following four months of declines, used car dealers posted a 0.3% gain in July.

Sales at clothing and clothing accessories stores rose 1.6%, with all store types posting gains in July. Clothing stores (+1.3%) and shoe stores (+3.9%) recorded higher sales in July. Sales at jewellery, luggage and leather goods stores (+1.7%) were up for the third time in four months.

Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (+1.5%) posted their first increase in three months.

Sales down in six provinces

Retail sales fell in six provinces in July. Declines in New Brunswick (-6.9%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-6.2%) coincided with an increase in the harmonized sales tax in both provinces in July. Weaker sales at new car dealers contributed to the decreases in both New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Retail sales were down in all three Prairie provinces, mainly as a result of lower sales at new car dealers and gasoline stations. In Saskatchewan, sales fell 3.3%, offsetting the gain in June. Receipts in Alberta (-0.8%) continued their downward trend in July, declining for the third consecutive month to reach their lowest level since June 2013. Sales in Manitoba were down 0.9%, the fourth decrease in five months.

Following two months of flat sales, Ontario recorded a 0.8% gain in July, which was due in large part to higher sales at new car dealers.

Sales in British Columbia (+0.9%) and Quebec (+0.2%) were up for the third time in four months.

Summary tables of unadjusted data by industry and by province and territory are now available from the Summary tables module of our website.

For information on related indicators, refer to the Latest statistics page on our website.



  Note to readers

All data in this release are seasonally adjusted and expressed in current dollars, unless otherwise noted. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Total retail sales expressed in volume are calculated by deflating current dollar values using consumer price indexes. The retail sales series in chained (2007) dollars is a chained Fisher volume index with 2007 as the reference year. For more information, see Calculation of Volume of Retail Trade Sales.

For information on trend-cycle data, see the StatCan Blog and Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.

Real-time CANSIM tables

Real-time CANSIM tables 080-8020 and 080-8024 will be updated on September 30. For more information, consult the document Real-time CANSIM tables.

Next release

Data on retail trade for August will be released on October 21.

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).

For analytical information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Xinye Yang (613-866-8734; xinye.yang@canada.ca), Retail and Service Industries Division.

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