Canadian seasonally-adjusted retail sales fell 1.8% to $57.0 billion in December. Declining sales at clothing and clothing accessories stores (-9.5%) and furniture and home furnishings stores (-11.3%) contributed most to the drop. The initial spread of the Omicron variant in December also drove falling sales activity. Core retail sales, which strips out gasoline and vehicle and parts sales, decreased 2.4% in December. In volume terms, sales declined 2.5%. 

In BC, seasonally-adjusted sales declined 1.4% in December. Compared to the same month last year, retail sales were up 3.3% in the province. In the Greater Vancouver region, sales declined 1.6% month-over-month and were up 7.7% year-over-year. 

In December, Canadian e-commerce sales declined 3.9% to 4.1 billion. As a result, e-commerce decreased from 6.8% of total retail sales in November to 6.5% in December. This percentage remains elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels. 

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.