Canadian retail sales surged in November, reversed course in December

Investing.com -- Canada’s retail sector experienced a sudden burst of activity in November, as consumers returned to stores following a sluggish autumn. Total receipts climbed 1.3% to $70.4 billion, according to data released Friday by Statistics Canada, a performance that was driven by a broad recovery across nearly all retail categories.

The gains were particularly concentrated in core retail sectors, which saw a 1.6% increase when excluding the volatile automotive and fuel segments. A primary engine of this growth was the food and beverage subsector, which jumped 3.0% as liquor stores in British Columbia resumed normal operations following significant labor disruptions.

The November rally also extended to discretionary categories, with clothing and accessory retailers posting a 2.4% gain after two months of declines. Building material and garden equipment dealers also contributed to the positive momentum, recording their second consecutive monthly increase as home improvement spending showed signs of life.

However, the optimistic tone of the November data was quickly tempered by preliminary figures for the final month of the year. Statistics Canada’s advance indicator suggests that retail sales retreated by 0.5% in December, signaling that the holiday shopping season may have lacked sustained momentum.

“Canadian retail sales picked up in November, but failed to hold onto those gains in December,” noted Andrew Grantham, a senior economist at CIBC. His assessment highlights a persistent trend of volatility that has characterized the Canadian consumer landscape throughout the current fiscal year.

Economists suggest that the November surge likely reflected a temporary release of pent-up demand rather than a structural shift in consumer behavior. Grantham observed that "the November gain hasn’t changed what has been a broadly sideways trend in retail spending since the start of 2025."

You May Also Be Interested In

• Anthropic claims $30T AI market (just 12x the entire tech sector combined)
• OpenAI releases first performance data for Jalapeño AI chip
• Citi says gold’s breakout is spec-driven and hinges on Jackson Hole