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May 24, 2024RETAIL TRADE MARCH 2024 Monthly (seasonally adjusted March 2024 vs February 2024)
In Nova Scotia retail trade increased 0.5% to $1,840 million. Nationally, retail trade decreased 0.2% to $66.4 billion. Six provinces reported monthly declines in retail trade led by Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan.Prin ce Edward Island reported the largest gain.
![](https://novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/media/20240524-RETAIL64m1.jpg)
Year over year (March 2024 vs March 2023)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 6.4% over the last year. Nationally, retail trade was up 1.9%. Seven provinces reported year-over-year increases in retail trade. New Brunswick reported the largest gains and Saskatchewan reported the largest decline.
![](https://novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/media/20240524-RETAIL64m2.jpg)
Year-to-date (January-March 2024 vs January-March 2023)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 4.3% year-to-date. Nationally, retail trade was up 1.0%. Seven provinces reported year-to-date increases in retail trade. New Brunswick reported the largest gain and Alberta reported the largest decline.
![](https://novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/media/20240524-RETAIL64m3.jpg)
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($1,162 million), food/beverage ($957 million), gas stations ($793 million) and general merchandise stores ($623 million) contributed the most to Nova Scotia's January-March sales. The largest year-to-date increases in percentage terms were reported in motor vehicles/parts, miscelaneous retail, and general merchandise. Sports/books/hobbies/music stores, electronic/appliances stores, building material stores, and health and personal care stores recorded year-to-date declines.
![](https://novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/media/20240524-RETAIL64m4.jpg)
![](https://novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/media/20240524-RETAIL64m5a.jpg)
Trends
In recent months, Nova Scotia retail sales have been more volatile than the Canadian average - which is common for a smaller province - and exceeded national retail sales growth in recent months.
![](https://novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/media/20240524-RETAIL64m6a.jpg)
E-Commerce
In March 2024, Canada's ecommerce sales increased 3.0% over the previous month to $3.98 billion, or to 6.0% of total retail sales.
![](https://novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/media/20240524-RETAIL64m7a.jpg)
Source: Statistics Canada. Table: 20-10-0056-01, Monthly retail trade sales by province and territory (x 1,000)