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May 22, 2026RETAIL TRADE, MARCH 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, March 2026 vs February 2026)
In Nova Scotia retail trade increased 0.2% to $1.97 billion. Nationally, retail trade rose 0.9% to $72.67 billion. Every province except Québec reported increasing retail trade, led by Newfoundland and Labrador.
Year over year (March 2026 vs March 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 3.6% in March compared to the same month last year. Nationally, retail trade increased 3.4% year-over-year. Every province reported increasing retail trade year-over-year, led by Alberta. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest rise in retail trade.
Year to date (January-March 2026 vs January-March 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 3.8% in January-March compared to the same period last year. Nationally, retail trade was up 2.8% year-to-date. All provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador reported year-to-date increases in retail trade, led by Alberta.
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($1.352 billion), food/beverage ($0.963 billion), gas stations ($0.892 billion) and general merchandise ($0.696 billion) contributed the most to Nova Scotia's retail sales in January-March 2026.
The largest increases in percentage terms were reported in gas stations 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 March 2026, Canada's ecommerce sales increased 1.5% from the previous month, rising to $5.14 billion, or 7.1% 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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