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July 22, 2022RETAIL TRADE, MAY 2022 MONTH OVER MONTH (seasonally adjusted May 2022 vs. Apr 2022)
In Nova Scotia retail trade increased 2.0% to $1,646.6 million. Nationally, retail trade increased 2.2% to $62.2 billion. All provinces reported monthly increases in retail trade, with Prince Edward Island (11.3%) reporting the largest gain and Newfoundland and Labrador (0.4%) reporting the smallest gain.
YEAR OVER YEAR (seasonally adjusted May 2022 vs. May 2021)
In Nova Scotia retail trade increased 20.5% over May 2021 when COVID restrictions werre in place. Nationally, retail trade increased 14.1%. All provinces reported year-over-year increases in retail trade, with Ontario (26.9%) reporting the largest gain. British Columbia (3.0%) reported the smallest gain.
YEAR TO DATE (seasonally adjusted Jan-May 2022 vs. Jan-May 2021)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 7.2%. Nationally, retail trade increased 9.8%. All provinces reported year-to-date increases in retail trade, with Ontario (16.5%) reporting the largest gain and British Columbia (1.4%) reporting the smallest gain.
Nova Scotia retail sales by category (January-May 2022 vs January-May 2021, unadjusted)
Retail trade increased 7.0% or $487.3 million. In dollar terms, gas stations, general merchandise and clothing stores contributed most to the increase. In percentage terms, clothing and furniture stores reported the largests gains. Motors vehicles and parts dealers were the only category to report a decline.
Trends
Retail sales declined sharply during periods of pandemic-related restrictions. In May 2021, there was a sharper reduction in retail sales in Nova Scotia than at the national level. However, since then Nova Scotia's retail sales growth has generally been faster than the national pace.
E-Commerce
In May 2022, Canada's ecommerce sales decreased 2.9% to $3.14 billion or 5.0% of total retail sales.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 20-10-0008-01 Retail trade sales by province and territory (x 1,000); Table 20-10-0072-01 Retail e-commerce sales (x 1,000)
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