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June 23, 2021RETAIL TRADE, APRIL 2021 With April reference month results, year-over-year (Apr 2021 vs Mar 2021) and year-to-date (Apr 2021 vs Apr 2020) show rebounds in economic activity from the unprecedented declines observed in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MONTH OVER MONTH (seasonally adjusted Apr 2021 vs Mar 2021)
In Nova Scotia Retail Trade decreased -2.3% to $1,533.7 million. Nationally, Retail Trade decreased -5.7% to $54.8 billion.
Three provinces reported monthly increases in retail trade, with New Brunswick (1.9%) reporting the largest gain and Ontario(-13.4% reporting the largest decline.
YEAR OVER YEAR (seasonally adjusted Apr 2021 vs Apr 2020)
In Nova Scotia Retail Trade increased 62.5%. Nationally, Retail Trade increased 56.7%.
Ten provinces reported year-over-year increases in retail trade, with Quebec (85.3%) reporting the largest gain, and Saskatchewan (37.6%) reporting the smallest gain.
YEAR TO DATE (seasonally adjusted Jan-Apr 2021 vs Jan-Apr 2020)
Nova Scotia Retail Trade increased 26.1%. Nationally, Retail Trade increased 19.6%.
Ten provinces reported year-to-date increases in retail trade, with Prince Edward Island (32.3%) reporting the largest gain and Ontario (13.5%) reporting the smallest gain.
NOVA SCOTIA SECTORS (Jan-Apr 2021 vs Jan-Apr 2020)
YEAR TO DATE (Unadjusted Jan-Apr 2021 vs Jan-Apr 2020)
Retail trade increased 28.1% or $1.2 billion. In dollar terms, motor vehicles contributed most to the increase. Building materials and general merchandise stores also contributed to the increase. The smallest increases were reported in electronics and food and beverage stores.
TRENDS (January 2013 to April 2021)
Nova Scotia's retail sales declined sharply from February 2020 to April 2020. Retail sales rebounded over the next twelve months. Compared to February 2020, Nova Scotia's April 2021 retail sales were 12.4% above their pre-pandemic levels.
National retail sales also rebounded after the sharp decline in March and April 2020. In April 2021, retail sales were 5.4% above pre-pandemic levels. Most provinces retail sales were above pre-pandemic levels. Ontario is -4.0% below pre-pandemic levels.
E-Commerce (seasonally adjusted)
In April 2021, Canada's seasonally adjusted e-commerce sales decreased 0.4% to $4.1 billion or 7.5% of total retail sales. At the beginning of the pandemic in February 2020, e-commerce increased from $2 billion per month to about $4 billion (May 2020. Monthly sales dropped off to about $3.5 billion in June 2020 and remained there until January 2021 when sales increased to about $4 billion per month and have remained at that level.
On a year-over-year basis (Apr 2021 vs Apr 2020), retail e-commerce sales increased 6.1%.
On a year-to-date basis (Jan-Apr 2021 vs Jan-Apr 2020), retail e-commerce sales increased 57.7%.
REFERENCES
Statistics Canada. Tables 20-10-0072-01 Retail E-commerce sales, unadjusted (x 1,000) , 20-10-0008-01 Retail trade sales by province and territory (x 1,000)
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