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September 20, 2024RETAIL TRADE JULY 2024 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, July 2024 vs June 2024)
In Nova Scotia retail trade increased 1.6% to $1,791 million. Nationally, retail trade increased 0.9% to $66.4 billion. Only two provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario) reported declines in retail trade. All others reported rising retail sales, led by Saskatchewan.
Year over year (July 2024 vs July 2023)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 3.9% in July compared to the same month last year. Nationally, retail trade was up 0.9% year-over-year. Seven provinces reported year-over-year increases in retail trade, led by Saskatchewan. Prince Edward Island, Ontario and British Columbia reported the only declines.
Year-to-date (January-July 2024 vs January-July 2023)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 1.8% year-to-date. Nationally, retail trade was up 0.8%. Eight provinces reported year-to-date increases in retail trade, led by Newfoundland and Labrador. Alberta and British Columbia reported the only declines.
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($3,122 million), food/beverage ($2,347 million), gas stations ($1,890 million) and general merchandise stores ($1,643 million) contributed the most to Nova Scotia's retail sales from January-July.
The largest year-to-date increases in percentage terms were reported in general merchandise stores and gas stations. Health/personal care stores and electronic/appliances stores recorded the largest year-to-date declines.
Trends
In recent months, Nova Scotia retail sales have been more volatile than the Canadian average (common for a smaller province) and have exceeded national retail sales growth.
E-Commerce
In July 2024, Canada's ecommerce sales increased 3.4% compared to the previous month, rising to $4.05 billion, or 6.1% of total retail sales.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table: 20-10-0056-01, Monthly retail trade sales by province and territory (x 1,000)