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June 21, 2023RETAIL TRADE, APRIL 2023 MONTH OVER MONTH (seasonally adjusted April 2023 vs. March 2023)
In Nova Scotia retail trade increased 4.4% to $1,807 million. Nationally, retail trade increased 1.1% to $65.9 billion. Eight provinces reported monthly increases in retail trade. Nova Scotia reported the largest gain, and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline.
YEAR OVER YEAR (April 2023 vs. April 2022)
In Nova Scotia retail trade increased 7.0%. Nationally, retail trade increased 2.9%. Eight provinces reported year-over-year increases in retail trade. Manitoba reported the largest gain with Newfoundland and Labrador reporting the largest decline.
YEAR TO DATE (January-April 2023 vs January-April 2022)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 6.6%. Nationally, retail trade increased 3.6%. All provinces reported year-to-date increases in retail trade, with Prince Edward Island reported the largest gain. British Columbia reported the smallest gain.
Nova Scotia (unadjusted) retail trade increased 6.5% to $6.32 billion. In dollar terms, Motor vehicles/Parts ($1.458 billion), Food & beverage stores ($1.277 billion), Gas stations ($1.022 billion) and General merchandise ($810 million) contributed most to year-to-date sales.
In percentage terms, electronics/appliances stores recorded the only year-to-date decline. Other retail categories that had significant year-to-date increases included health/personal care stores, miscellaneous retail, clothing stores, and general merchandise stores.
Trends
Retail sales moved sharply during periods of pandemic-related restrictions. National and Nova Scotia’s retail sales have followed similar trend in recent months with Nova Scotia growth index exceeding the national index in September 2022 through April 2023.
E-Commerce
In April 2023, Canada's ecommerce sales decreased 6.1% over the previous month to $3.64 billion, or 5.5% of total retail sales.
Source: Statistics Canada.
Table: 20-10-0056-01, Monthly retail trade sales by province and territory (x 1,000)
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