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June 21, 2024RETAIL TRADE APRIL 2024 Monthly (seasonally adjusted April 2024 vs March 2024)
In Nova Scotia retail trade decreased 0.5% to $1,810 million. Nationally, retail trade increased 0.7% to $66.8 billion. Eight provinces reported gains in retail trade, led by Saskatchewan, reported gains. Ontario and Nova Scotia reported declines.
Year over year (April 2024 vs April 2023)
Nova Scotia retail trade decreased 0.4% compared to the same month last year. Nationally, retail trade was up 1.8%. Nine provinces reported year-over-year increases in retail trade. Prince Edward Island reported the largest gain and Nova Scotian reported the only decline.
Year-to-date (January-April 2024 vs January-April 2023)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 2.6% year-to-date. Nationally, retail trade was up 1.1%. Nine provinces reported year-to-date increases in retail trade. New Brunswick reported the largest gain and Alberta reported the only decline.
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($1,622 million), food/beverage ($1,266 million), gas stations ($1,052 million) and general merchandise stores ($860 million) contributed the most to Nova Scotia's January-April sales.
The largest year-to-date increases in percentage terms were reported in miscellaneous retail, motor vehicles/parts, and general merchandise. Sports/books/hobbies/music stores, electronic/appliances stores, health/personal care stores and food and beverage stores recorded year-to-date declines.
Trends
In recent months, Nova Scotia retail sales have been more volatile than the Canadian average - which is common for a smaller province - and exceeded national retail sales growth in recent months.
E-Commerce
In April 2024, Canada's ecommerce sales decreased 0.1% compared to the previous month, falling to $4.0 billion, or 6.0% 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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