BRITISH COLUMBIA – Canadian retail sales decreased 5. per cent m/m to $54.8 billion on a seasonally-adjusted basis in April. This was the largest monthly decline since April of last year.
Sales declined in 9 of 11 sub-sectors, with the largest declines in clothing and general merchandise. Excluding the more volatile sectors like motor-vehicles and gasoline sales, retail sales were down 7.6 per cent in April. Drops in sales were driven by third wave restrictions implemented across the country in April. One in twenty Canadian retailers were closed for at least one business day in April due to lockdowns.
In BC, seasonally-adjusted retail sales declined just 0.2 per cent m/m as COVID-19 cases peaked in the middle of April. Retail sales rose 0.7 per cent m/m in Metro Vancouver. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, BC retail sales were up by 47 per cent compared to the same time last year.
In April, Canadian e-commerce sales were up 58.7 per cent year-over-year to $4 billion. E-commerce accounted for 7 per cent of total retail sales, up from 6.6 per cent in March. In April of last year, in the midst of the first wave, e-commerce accounted for 10.2 per cent of retail sales.
