Retail sales in July were $44.1 billion, down 0.1% from June but an increase of 2.3% from July 2015. Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers and by gasoline stations, retail sales were up by 3.5% from July 2015.
Retail sales in volume terms were up 0.3% from June. Decreases in month-over-month sales were reported in 5 of 11 sectors.
July 2016 sales over July 2015 were up in seven provinces. British Columbia experienced the largest annualized gain (+6.4%), followed by Prince Edward Island (+5.8%) and Quebec (+3.80%). The year-over-year gain in Ontario was 3.3%.
Sales in the building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers sector in July were $2.7 billion, up 1.5% from June and a 7.7% gain from July 2015. This was the 29th straight annualized increase for the industry. It was the first monthly gain in three months. The main product type sold in this sector is lumber and other building materials, accounting for about 40% of total sales.
The motor vehicle and parts dealers sector saw sales decline by 0.2% from June but increase by 4.2% from July 2015. Gasoline station sales were down 3.0% from June and fell by 8.9% from July 2015.
Sales at food and beverage stores were down 0.1% from June to July but grew by 1.4% from July 2015 to July 2016. Sales at supermarkets and other grocery stores increased by 0.4% from a month earlier and were up 1.2% from July 2015. Beer, wine and liquor store sales increased 2.6% in July 2016 over July 2015.
General merchandise stores sales increased 0.7% from June and were 4.0% higher than in July 2015, standing at $5.7 billion. “General merchandise stores” include department stores, warehouse clubs, superstores and home and auto supplies stores and account for 12% of total retail sales. Food and non-alcoholic beverages account for approximately 25% of sales at general merchandise stores.
Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores were down 1.4% from June at $1.4 billion but increased 0.3% from July 2015. Sales at electronics and appliance stores increased 0.1% from June to $1.2 billion. They were down 0.1% from July 2015. Sales at health and personal care stores declined 0.3% from June to $3.4 billion. They were up 7.3% from July 2015.