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March 20, 2026RETAIL TRADE, JANUARY 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, January 2026 vs December 2025)
In Nova Scotia retail trade increased 1.8% to $1.93 billion. Nationally, retail trade rose 1.1% to $70.71 billion. Every provinces reported increasing retail trade, led by Alberta. Manitoba reported the slowest monthly increase in retail sales.
Year over year (January 2026 vs January 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 1.8% in January compared to the same month last year. Nationally, retail trade increased 1.5% year-over-year. Eight provinces reported year-over-year increases in retail trade, led by Alberta. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the steepest year-over-year decline.
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($0.415 billion), food/beverage ($0.340 billion), gas stations ($0.282 billion) and general merchandise ($0.230 billion) contributed the most to Nova Scotia's retail sales in January 2026.
The largest increases in percentage terms were reported in general merchandise, gas stations, and miscellaneous retail. Furniture and health/personal care stores reported the largest declines.
Trends
In recent months, Nova Scotia retail sales have been more volatile than the Canadian average (common for a smaller province).
E-Commerce
In January 2026, Canada's ecommerce sales increased 1.5% from the previous month, rising to $4.38 billion, or 6.2% 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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