Canadian seasonally-adjusted retail sales fell 0.1 per cent in November to $61.8 billion. Sales fell in 6 of 11 subsectors, but were led by lower sales at food and beverage stores (-1.6 per cent) and building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (-3.8 per cent). Core retail sales, which strips out gasoline and motor vehicle and parts dealers, declined 1.1 per cent. In volume terms, sales fell 0.4 per cent in November. 

In BC, seasonally-adjusted sales rose 0.9 per cent in November. Compared to the same month last year, retail sales were up 4.4 per cent in the province. In the Greater Vancouver region, sales rose 0.9 per cent month-over-month and were up 4 per cent year-over-year. 

In November, in the run-up to the holiday shopping season, Canadian e-commerce sales rose 26 per cent to $4.4 billion, corresponding to 6.5 per cent of retail sales. This percentage remains elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels, but is lower than during core months of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.