Canada retail sales dip 0.2% in October, November estimate shows growth

Investing.com -- Canadian retail sales fell 0.2% to $69.4 billion in October, according to data released by Statistics Canada. The decline was led by decreases at food and beverage retailers.

Looking ahead, Statistics Canada provided an advance estimate suggesting retail sales increased 1.2% in November, though the agency said this figure may be revised as more data becomes available.

Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors as well as motor vehicle and parts dealers, dropped 0.5% in October, marking their second consecutive monthly decline.

Food and beverage retailers saw a 2.0% decrease, with beer, wine and liquor retailers experiencing a significant 10.6% drop that coincided with labour disruptions in British Columbia. Supermarkets and other grocery retailers also recorded lower receipts, falling 0.7%.

Other sectors showing declines included clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers (-0.7%) and health and personal care retailers (-0.3%).

On the positive side, furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retailers posted a 1.1% increase, while motor vehicle and parts dealers rebounded with a 0.6% gain after falling 2.9% in September. New car dealers led this increase with a 0.5% rise, followed by other motor vehicle dealers at 5.2%.

Gasoline stations and fuel vendors saw sales decrease by 0.8% in October after rising 0.5% in September. In volume terms, retail sales overall fell 0.6% for the month.

Regionally, sales decreased in four provinces, with Quebec experiencing the largest decline (-0.9%), including a 0.9% drop in Montreal. Alberta saw a 0.6% decrease due to lower receipts at motor vehicle and parts dealers. New Brunswick recorded the largest provincial increase at 3.4%, driven by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

E-commerce retail sales in Canada decreased 0.3% to $4.1 billion in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, accounting for 6.0% of total retail trade.

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