Canada. Retail Sales Up

Retail sales in current dollars increased 1.2% in May to $34.0 billion, more than offsetting a modest decline in April.

Sales increased in seven of eight sectors, led by a 2.4% increase in the automotive sector. Retail sales have been generally rising since the beginning of 2009.

In volume terms, retail sales increased 0.7%.

A 3.4% rise in sales at new car dealers was the main contributor to May's increase in the automotive sector, reflecting increased sales of trucks, according to the New Motor Vehicle Sales Survey. Used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers saw their sales rise 1.8% after six months of declines. Sales at gasoline stations advanced 0.9% after decreasing 4.7% over the previous two months.

The building and outdoor home supplies stores sector saw sales increase by 1.0%, double the rate of the previous month. Sales in home centres and hardware stores (+1.1%) rose for the fourth consecutive month. Specialized building materials and garden stores posted a 0.8% gain after decreases in the previous two months.

After declining in April, sales at food and beverage stores rose 0.7%, with all store types registering increases. None of these increases offset April's declines.

Furniture, home furnishings and electronics stores saw their sales rise 0.5%, the first increase in this sector since July 2008. Sales at home furnishings stores (+2.5%) led the increase in May and have been outperforming the other types of stores in this sector since February 2009. A major part of the revenue of home furnishings stores comes from the sales and installation of products related to home renovation and building, such as floor coverings and tiles.

The exception to rising sales was in clothing and accessories stores, where sales were essentially unchanged from April. Clothing stores registered a 0.2% increase in sales, while the decline in shoe, clothing accessories and jewellery stores (-0.7%) was the fourth consecutive decrease for that trade group.

Sales up in nine provinces

Retail sales were up in nine provinces in May, largely reflecting higher sales of new motor vehicles. The largest contributor to the national increase was a 1.5% gain in sales in Ontario. Retail sales in Ontario have risen in four of the last five months.

The highest rate of increase was in New Brunswick (+2.5%), where new car dealers reported strong truck sales.

With a 1.0% rise in May, Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province where retail sales have risen every month so far in 2009.

The only province to post a decrease in sales was Prince Edward Island. Its retail sales fell 0.7%, following two months of increases greater than 1%.

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