Canada retail sales 4-1.4%
- Prior month -0.2%
- Advanced flash estimate for April 0.2%
- Ex autos -0.3% versus -0.8% expected
- Prior ex autos came in at -0.7%
- The advanced retail sales report for March (released last month) was for a loss of -1.4%
In March, retail sales in Canada dropped by 1.4% to $65.3 billion due to decreases in 5 out of 9 subsectors, which represents 55.5% of retail trade. The decline was led by a 4.4% drop in sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and a 3.9% drop at gasoline stations and fuel vendors. However, core retail sales, excluding these two sectors, saw a slight increase of 0.3%. In terms of volume, retail sales dropped by 1.0%. Despite this, retail sales in Q1 2023 were up by 0.7% and by 1.2% in volume terms. The decrease in sales in March was the first in eight months for motor vehicle and parts dealers, with new car dealers seeing the most significant drop of 4.8%. Retail e-commerce sales rose by 2.2% to $3.8 billion, accounting for 5.9% of total retail trade. A preliminary estimate suggests a 0.2% increase in retail sales in April.
The advanced report last month showed an expected decline of -1.4%.
Below are the gains and losses from the various sectors in March.
Canada retail sales by sector