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In November, retail sales fell by 2.4% from October to $34.9 billion, the largest monthly decline since January 1998. November's decline largely reflected price-induced lower sales at gasoline stations and a drop in unit sales at new car dealers. Excluding the automotive sector (which includes new, used and recreational vehicle and parts dealers as well as gasoline stations), retail sales were flat.
Chart 1
Retail sales in November were pulled down considerably by a 7.1% decline in sales in the automotive sector. The 14.9% sales drop at gasoline stations, the largest monthly decline since September 2006, was all price-induced as gasoline prices at the pump fell considerably from October. Lower unit sales of new motor vehicles, especially passenger cars, according to the New Motor Vehicle Sales Survey, were behind the 3.4% sales decline at new car dealers in November.
Retail sales in volume terms fell 0.6%.
Aside from the automotive sector, four other retail sectors registered lower sales while the remaining three reported increases.
Chart 2
The second largest decline in November was observed in the miscellaneous retailers sector, where sales fell by 0.7%. Sales in this sector have levelled off in 2008, mainly reflecting a downturn in sales at sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores midway through the year.
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 in general merchandise stores decreased by 0.5%, representing the second decline in nine months.
The largest increases were observed in the pharmacies and personal care stores sector, and the food and beverage stores sector, where sales rose by 0.5% in each sector.
Sales down in all provinces and territories
Lower gasoline prices and a decline in sales at new car dealers led to a drop in sales in all provinces in November. With the exception of Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan, the decline in retail sales was at least 1.0%.
Retail sales in British Columbia dropped by 3.1% in November and were at their lowest level since January 2007. Sales in this province have been on a downward trend since the summer of 2008.
In Ontario, November's 2.8% sales decline was the third consecutive monthly decrease after reaching a plateau midway through 2008.
With a 2.1% decline in November, retail sales in Quebec slowed down after having increased earlier in 2008.
Saskatchewan's retail sales decline in November was the fifth in two years. As for Prince Edward Island, it was the only province to register an increase in the number of new motor vehicles sold in November, according to the New Motor Vehicles Sales Survey.
Table 1
| November 2007 | August 2008r | September 2008r | October 2008r | November 2008p | October to November 2008 | November 2007 to November 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||||
| $ millions | % change | ||||||
| Automotive | 12,130 | 12,238 | 12,443 | 12,204 | 11,338 | -7.1 | -6.5 |
| New car dealers | 6,298 | 5,943 | 6,097 | 6,059 | 5,853 | -3.4 | -7.1 |
| Used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers | 1,582 | 1,617 | 1,646 | 1,672 | 1,678 | 0.3 | 6.1 |
| Gasoline stations | 4,251 | 4,678 | 4,700 | 4,473 | 3,808 | -14.9 | -10.4 |
| Furniture, home furnishings and electronics stores | 2,506 | 2,659 | 2,639 | 2,555 | 2,548 | -0.3 | 1.7 |
| Furniture stores | 844 | 874 | 871 | 826 | 829 | 0.3 | -1.8 |
| Home furnishings stores | 494 | 521 | 520 | 503 | 484 | -3.7 | -1.9 |
| Computer and software stores | 119 | 119 | 115 | 117 | 112 | -4.4 | -5.5 |
| Home electronics and appliance stores | 1,050 | 1,144 | 1,132 | 1,109 | 1,123 | 1.3 | 7.0 |
| Building and outdoor home supplies stores | 2,233 | 2,304 | 2,286 | 2,281 | 2,283 | 0.1 | 2.3 |
| Home centres and hardware stores | 1,802 | 1,886 | 1,862 | 1,860 | 1,875 | 0.8 | 4.0 |
| Specialized building materials and garden stores | 431 | 418 | 424 | 421 | 408 | -3.0 | -5.2 |
| Food and beverage stores | 7,821 | 7,985 | 8,075 | 8,106 | 8,145 | 0.5 | 4.2 |
| Supermarkets | 5,604 | 5,746 | 5,829 | 5,876 | 5,896 | 0.3 | 5.2 |
| Convenience and specialty food stores | 839 | 843 | 840 | 841 | 850 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| Beer, wine and liquor stores | 1,377 | 1,397 | 1,407 | 1,389 | 1,399 | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Pharmacies and personal care stores | 2,393 | 2,459 | 2,457 | 2,473 | 2,485 | 0.5 | 3.9 |
| Clothing and accessories stores | 2,024 | 2,011 | 2,030 | 1,990 | 1,986 | -0.2 | -1.8 |
| Clothing stores | 1,549 | 1,542 | 1,555 | 1,522 | 1,527 | 0.3 | -1.4 |
| Shoe, clothing accessories and jewellery stores | 475 | 469 | 475 | 468 | 460 | -1.7 | -3.2 |
| General merchandise stores | 4,148 | 4,348 | 4,414 | 4,372 | 4,351 | -0.5 | 4.9 |
| Miscellaneous retailers | 1,814 | 1,837 | 1,819 | 1,810 | 1,798 | -0.7 | -0.9 |
| Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores | 890 | 906 | 895 | 881 | 878 | -0.3 | -1.3 |
| Miscellaneous store retailers | 925 | 930 | 923 | 929 | 919 | -1.0 | -0.6 |
| Total retail sales | 35,068 | 35,841 | 36,163 | 35,791 | 34,936 | -2.4 | -0.4 |
| Total excluding new car dealers, used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers | 27,189 | 28,281 | 28,420 | 28,060 | 27,406 | -2.3 | 0.8 |
| Provinces and territories | |||||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 560 | 602 | 612 | 615 | 597 | -3.0 | 6.5 |
| Prince Edward Island | 138 | 144 | 146 | 146 | 145 | -0.2 | 5.1 |
| Nova Scotia | 987 | 1,026 | 1,056 | 1,026 | 996 | -2.9 | 0.9 |
| New Brunswick | 796 | 830 | 849 | 835 | 804 | -3.8 | 0.9 |
| Quebec | 7,700 | 8,001 | 8,192 | 8,037 | 7,865 | -2.1 | 2.1 |
| Ontario | 12,423 | 12,821 | 12,785 | 12,697 | 12,342 | -2.8 | -0.7 |
| Manitoba | 1,214 | 1,252 | 1,262 | 1,274 | 1,262 | -1.0 | 3.9 |
| Saskatchewan | 1,146 | 1,212 | 1,213 | 1,226 | 1,222 | -0.4 | 6.6 |
| Alberta | 5,189 | 5,094 | 5,141 | 5,116 | 5,035 | -1.6 | -3.0 |
| British Columbia | 4,786 | 4,733 | 4,777 | 4,690 | 4,543 | -3.1 | -5.1 |
| Yukon | 43 | 44 | 45 | 45 | 44 | -2.8 | 2.2 |
| Northwest Territories | 61 | 59 | 60 | 59 | 56 | -4.2 | -7.4 |
| Nunavut | 24 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 | -1.7 | 6.3 |
It is now 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 November 2008 issue of the publication Retail Trade (63-005-XWE, free) will be available shortly.
Data on retail trade for December will be released on February 23.
For more information, or to order data, contact Client Services (613-951-3549; toll-free 1-877-421-3067; retailinfo@statcan.gc.ca). For analytical information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Lucy Chung (613-951-1903), Distributive Trades Division.
