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September 22, 2023RETAIL TRADE, JULY 2023 Monthly (seasonally adjusted July 2023 vs June 2023)
In Nova Scotia retail trade declined 2.2% to $1,718 million, the largest decline among the provinces. Nationally, retail trade increased 0.3% to $66.1 billion. Five provinces reported monthly increases in retail trade led by Newfoundland and Labrador.
Year over year (July 2023 vs July 2022)
Nova Scotia retail trade decreased 1.1% over the last year, the largest decline among the provinces. Nationally, retail trade was up 2.0%. Six provinces reported year-over-year increases in retail trade. Quebec reported the largest gain.
Year to date (January-July 2023 vs January-July 2022)
Nova Scotia retail trade was up 3.8% year-to-date. Nationally, retail trade increased 2.2% with nine province reporting increases (the exception was a slight decline in Onario). Alberta reported the largest gain.
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($2.941 billion), food/beverage ($2.406 billion) and gas stations ($1.784 billion) contributed the most to year-to-date sales. The largest year-to-date increases in percentage terms were reported in health/personal care and miscellaneous retail categories. Gas stations, electronics/appliances, and building materials/garden supplies 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 - but have kept pace with national retail sales growth.
E-Commerce
In July 2023, Canada's ecommerce sales increased 2.4% over the previous month to $3.954 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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