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September 24, 2026RETAIL TRADE, JULY 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, July 2026 vs June 2026)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 0.6% to $1.99 billion in July 2026. Nationally, retail trade fell 0.7% to $73.70 billion, despite increases in five provinces led by New Brunswick. Ontario reported the fastest decrease.
Year over year (July 2026 vs July 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 7.1% in July compared to the same month last year. Nationally, retail trade increased 5.1% year-over-year. All provinces reported increasing retail trade year-over-year, led by Newfoundland and Labrador.
Year to date (January-July 2026 vs January-July 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 5.3% in January-July 2026 compared to the same period the previous year. National retail trade increased 4.1% year-to-date with increases in all provinces, led by Alberta and Prince Edward Island.
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($3.715 billion), food/beverage ($2.360 billion), gas stations ($2.167 billion) and general merchandise ($1.818 billion) contributed the most to Nova Scotia's retail sales in January-July 2026.
The largest increases in percentage terms were reported in gas stations, followed by motor vehicles/parts and general merchandise. Furniture reported the largest year-to-date decline in retail sales.
Trends
In recent months Nova Scotia retail sales have been more volatile than the Canadian average (common for a smaller province), but have outpaced national retail sales.
E-Commerce
In July 2026, Canada's e-commerce sales decreased 3.5% from the previous month, to $5.49 billion or 7.5% 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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