Retail sales decreased 2.5 per cent to $61.3 billion in July, the first decline observed in seven months, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency said sales were down in nine of 11 subsectors, representing 94.5 per cent of retail trade and the decrease was driven by lower sales at gasoline stations and clothing and clothing accessories stores.
Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers—decreased 0.9 per cent, it added.
“Leading the decrease in retail sales in July were lower sales at gasoline stations (-14.2 per cent), which recorded their first decline in seven months. In volume terms, sales at gasoline stations decreased 7.0 per cent. Gasoline prices fell 9.2% on an unadjusted basis in July. Ongoing concerns related to a slowing global economy continued to put downward pressure on gas prices,” explained StatsCan.
“Sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers fell 0.5 per cent in July. The decline was largely the result of lower sales at new car dealers (-0.6 per cent). Lower sales were also reported at used car dealers (-1.7 per cent) and automotive parts, accessories and tire stores (-0.9 per cent). In contrast, other motor vehicle dealers (+2.4 per cent) were the only store type in this subsector to increase.”
The report said retail sales decreased in seven provinces in July, led by lower sales in Ontario at five per cent.
“On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail e-commerce sales were down 0.7 per cent in July,” said Statistics Canada. “On an unadjusted basis, retail e-commerce sales were up 4.3 per cent year over year to $3.2 billion in July, accounting for 4.7 per cent of total retail trade. The share of e-commerce sales out of total retail sales fell 0.1 percentage points compared with July 2021.”
(Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran of the media industry for more than 40 years and named in 2021 a Top Ten Business Journalist in the world and only Canadian)
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