Reports that show a decline of 0.1 per cent in Canadian retail sales from June to July could be misleading, Retail Insider reports. The results, based on Statistics Canada’s data, relies on seasonal adjustments, which was applied 5.9 per cent for July.
There has been sales improvements in the food, drugs and store merchandise sectors. Retail sales of food and drug stores were up 6.8 per cent from last year’s numbers for the three-month period ending July. Store merchandising was up by 5.3 per cent from last year, with electronics and appliance stores having a 0.3 per cent rise despite being down 0.8 per cent on a three-month basis. Sales for the automotive sector show a settling down, despite still being at a level that’s above the overall retail average. CJ
