Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Retail trade
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Related subjects
Retail sales decreased 2.0% in current dollars to $36.2 billion in April following a gain of similar magnitude in March. Sales decreased in 10 of 11 retail subsectors and in all provinces.
Sales in volume terms decreased 1.9% in April. Retail sales have been following an upward trend since the beginning of 2009.
There was a 4.8% decrease at motor vehicle and parts dealers in April. Within this subsector, the 5.3% decline at new car dealers was largely responsible for this decrease, reflecting a lower volume of new motor vehicles sold. There were also lower sales at other motor vehicle dealers (-6.8%) and used car dealers (-4.4%). Sales at automotive parts, accessories and tire stores (+2.3%) rose for a third consecutive month.
Clothing and clothing accessories stores saw their sales decrease 5.2% in April. This decline comes after a strong increase in March that was likely influenced by warmer than usual weather in much of Canada.
Gasoline stations sales were down 2.0% after recording increases for the previous 11 months.
Sales at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers decreased 2.0%. While monthly levels have fluctuated widely in recent months, sales of this store type have been on an upward trend since the beginning of 2009.
Food and beverage stores sales were down 0.5% in April after rising for the previous three months.
Note to readers
All the data in this release are seasonally adjusted and in current dollars, unless otherwise noted.
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.
Starting with the April 21, 2010 release of February 2010 data, the presentation of results makes direct use of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) instead of its trade group variant (see concordance table).
The previous CANSIM tables 080-0014 to 080-0017 have been replaced by tables 080-0020 and 080-0021. Data beginning in January 2004 are available in the new CANSIM tables. In addition, data for provincial and territorial totals and for Canada level totals of selected sub-sectors and industries are now available beginning in January 1991. In order to allow users to adapt to these new series, access to the new CANSIM tables will be free until June 30, 2010.
Retail sales declined for a third consecutive month at furniture and home furnishing stores, edging down 0.3% in April.
The only subsector to register a gain was electronics and appliance stores, where sales increased 0.6%.
Sales down in all provinces
Retail sales fell in all provinces in April. This reflected, in part, a decline in the number of new motor vehicles sold in all provinces, according to the New Motor Vehicles Sales Survey.
Quebec had the largest drop among the provinces in April, with sales declining 3.9% following five consecutive monthly increases. The smallest decline in retail sales was a 0.7% decrease in British Columbia.
Sales in Ontario declined 1.2% after rising for three consecutive months.
Manitoba's sales fell 1.8% following eight consecutive monthly increases, which was the longest streak of monthly increases among the provinces.
Table 1
| April 2009 | March 2010r | April 2010p | March to April 2010 | April 2009 to April 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||
| $ millions | % change | ||||
| Canada | 33,914 | 36,883 | 36,154 | -2.0 | 6.6 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 583 | 639 | 619 | -3.1 | 6.0 |
| Prince Edward Island | 140 | 152 | 150 | -1.1 | 7.4 |
| Nova Scotia | 992 | 1,082 | 1,067 | -1.4 | 7.6 |
| New Brunswick | 811 | 888 | 861 | -3.1 | 6.1 |
| Quebec | 7,637 | 8,489 | 8,162 | -3.9 | 6.9 |
| Ontario | 12,141 | 13,074 | 12,916 | -1.2 | 6.4 |
| Manitoba | 1,208 | 1,317 | 1,293 | -1.8 | 7.0 |
| Saskatchewan | 1,183 | 1,254 | 1,226 | -2.3 | 3.6 |
| Alberta | 4,618 | 4,979 | 4,890 | -1.8 | 5.9 |
| British Columbia | 4,478 | 4,875 | 4,841 | -0.7 | 8.1 |
| Yukon | 43 | 48 | 46 | -3.9 | 8.4 |
| Northwest Territories | 54 | 58 | 56 | -3.8 | 4.1 |
| Nunavut | 28 | 29 | 28 | -2.2 | 1.0 |
Table 2
| April 2009 | March 2010r | April 2010p | March to April 2010 | April 2009 to April 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||
| $ millions | % change | ||||
| Total retail trade | 33,914 | 36,883 | 36,154 | -2.0 | 6.6 |
| Total excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers | 26,879 | 28,800 | 28,461 | -1.2 | 5.9 |
| Total excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations | 23,586 | 24,765 | 24,508 | -1.0 | 3.9 |
| Motor vehicle and parts dealers | 7,035 | 8,083 | 7,693 | -4.8 | 9.3 |
| New car dealers | 5,544 | 6,444 | 6,103 | -5.3 | 10.1 |
| Used car dealers | 446 | 475 | 454 | -4.4 | 1.9 |
| Other motor vehicle dealers | 549 | 605 | 564 | -6.8 | 2.7 |
| Automotive parts, accessories and tire stores | 497 | 559 | 572 | 2.3 | 15.1 |
| Furniture and home furnishing stores | 1,178 | 1,251 | 1,248 | -0.3 | 5.9 |
| Furniture stores | 766 | 818 | 803 | -1.9 | 4.9 |
| Home furnishings stores | 412 | 433 | 445 | 2.8 | 7.8 |
| Electronics and appliance stores | 1,120 | 1,138 | 1,145 | 0.6 | 2.3 |
| Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers | 2,236 | 2,520 | 2,470 | -2.0 | 10.5 |
| Food and beverage stores | 8,453 | 8,629 | 8,588 | -0.5 | 1.6 |
| Supermarkets and other grocery (except convenience) stores | 6,065 | 6,104 | 6,087 | -0.3 | 0.4 |
| Convenience stores | 554 | 579 | 572 | -1.4 | 3.2 |
| Specialty food stores | 378 | 422 | 406 | -3.9 | 7.2 |
| Beer, wine and liquor stores | 1,456 | 1,524 | 1,524 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| Health and personal care stores | 2,507 | 2,608 | 2,606 | -0.1 | 4.0 |
| Gasoline stations | 3,293 | 4,034 | 3,953 | -2.0 | 20.0 |
| Clothing and clothing accessories stores | 1,910 | 2,128 | 2,016 | -5.2 | 5.5 |
| Clothing stores | 1,483 | 1,653 | 1,561 | -5.6 | 5.3 |
| Shoe stores | 228 | 254 | 238 | -6.4 | 4.3 |
| Jewellery, luggage and leather goods stores | 199 | 220 | 217 | -1.6 | 8.7 |
| Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores | 926 | 973 | 942 | -3.2 | 1.8 |
| General merchandise stores | 4,328 | 4,586 | 4,564 | -0.5 | 5.4 |
| Miscellaneous store retailers | 928 | 932 | 928 | -0.4 | 0.0 |
It is 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 080-0020 and 080-0021.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 2406 and 2408.
The April 2010 issue of the publication Retail Trade (63-005-X, free) will be available shortly.
Data on retail trade for May will be released on July 22.
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 Jake W. Purdy (613-951-0984), Distributive Trades Division.
