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October 23, 2026RETAIL TRADE, AUGUST 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, August 2026 vs July 2026)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 0.6% to $2.00 billion in August 2026. Nationally, retail trade rose 1.2% to $74.57 billion, with increases in six provinces led by Ontario. Declines were concentrated in the Atlantic provinces, with the exception of Nova Scotia.
Year over year (August 2026 vs August 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 8.5% in August compared to the same month last year. Nationally, retail trade increased 5.4% year-over-year. All provinces reported increasing retail trade year-over-year, led by Prince Edward Island.
Year to date (January-August 2026 vs January-August 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 5.7% in January-August 2026 compared to the same period the previous year. National retail trade increased 4.3% year-to-date with increases in all provinces, led by Prince Edward Island and Alberta.
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($4.251 billion), food/beverage ($2.738 billion), gas stations ($2.483 billion) and general merchandise ($2.095 billion) contributed the most to Nova Scotia's retail sales in January-August 2026.
The largest increases in percentage terms were reported in gas stations, followed by motor vehicles/parts 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 August 2026, Canada's e-commerce sales rose 1.1% from the previous month, to $5.65 billion or 7.6% of total retail sales.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table: 20-10-0056-01, Monthly retail trade sales by province and territory (x 1,000)