Retail sales increased 1.3% to $70.4 billion in November. Sales were up in eight of nine subsectors, led by increases at food and beverage retailers. Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers—were up 1.6% in November. In volume terms, retail sales increased 1.1% in November, reported Statistics Canada on Friday.
“Core retail sales rose 1.6% in November after decreasing in the previous two months. The largest increase to core retail sales came from food and beverage retailers (+3.0%). The increase in this subsector was led by beer, wine and liquor retailers, which were up 14.3% in November after falling 11.8% in October amid labour disruptions in British Columbia that impacted the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. In the food and beverage retailers subsector, higher receipts were also recorded at supermarkets and other grocery retailers (+1.2%),” explained the federal agency.
“Also contributing to the gain in core retail sales in November were higher sales in the health and personal care retailers subsector (+1.6%).
“Clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewellery, luggage and leather goods retailers (+2.4%) were up in November. Clothing and clothing accessories retailers (+2.7%) led the increase in this subsector, following two consecutive monthly declines.”
Higher sales were also recorded at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (+2.1%) in November. The increase marks a second consecutive monthly gain for this subsector, said StatsCan, adding that the sole decrease to retail sales in November came from sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers (-0.2%).
Statistics Canada said sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors (+2.0%) were up in November after falling 1.4% in October. In volume terms, sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors rose 0.7% in November.
“On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail e-commerce sales decreased 2.8% to $4.0 billion in November, accounting for 5.7% of total retail trade, compared with 6.0% in October,” it said.
“Statistics Canada is providing an advance estimate of retail sales, which suggests that sales decreased 0.5% in December. Owing to its early nature, this figure will be revised. This unofficial estimate was calculated based on responses received from 61.3% of companies surveyed. The average final response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months was 88.0%.”
Canadian retail sales picked up in November, but failed to hold onto those gains in December,” said Andrew Grantham, Senior Economist with CIBC Capital Markets.
“The 1.3% increase in sales during November was a tick above the advance estimate and consensus forecast, and reflected a 1.1% gain in inflation-adjusted terms. Core retail sales (ex autos and gasoline) rose by 1.6%, on the back of broad-based increases led by food & beverage stores. However, even after the latest increase, sales volumes remained weaker than they were in August, thanks to declines in the previous two months. Moreover, the advance estimate for December suggested that sales pulled back again with a 0.5% nominal reduction estimated. In other words, the November gain hasn’t changed what has been a broadly sideways trend in retail spending since the start of 2025.”
Despite a decent November report, Canadian retail sales continue to be choppy. Considering the significant headwinds of trade uncertainty, consumers appear to be holding on, supported in part by past interest rate cuts, said Shelly Kaushik, Senior Economist, BMO Capital Markets.
“November delivered a welcome rebound, but there is little to get excited about. Part of the strength reflects volatility tied to a labour dispute, rather than a meaningful improvement in underlying demand. The pick-up follows a weak and downwardly revised October and is already giving way to softer momentum in December. Looking through the monthly volatility, the underlying trend in real sales remains negative. Soft consumer sentiment is likely a key factor: the Bank of Canada’s latest consumer survey shows households are feeling increasingly pessimistic about their finances, weighing on spending decisions,” said Maria Solovieva, Economist, TD Economics.
“Our outlook for Q4 real consumption growth remains subdued, tracking close to 0.9% (quarter-on-quarter, annualized). There is some upside risk from services, as our internal credit and debit card data point to building momentum toward year-end. Still, we don’t think expect it to be large enough to lift overall consumption above a below-trend pace.”
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