Canada’s retail sales fell 0.8% in July, marking the first decline in seven months and reversing gains from the second quarter, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.
The drop follows a 0.6% increase in June, when total retail sales reached $74.3 billion. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had projected a 0.4% rise for July, based on an advance estimate covering responses from 56.5% of surveyed companies.
Core retail sales, excluding gasoline stations and motor vehicle dealers, rose 1.2% in June, led by a 2.7% jump in general merchandise retailers. Clothing and accessories sales climbed 3.1%, while food and beverage retailers declined 0.4%, driven by a 0.6% drop at supermarkets and grocery stores. Retail e-commerce sales surged 9.9% to $5.7 billion, accounting for 7.7% of total retail trade, up from 7.1% in May.
In the second quarter, retail sales increased 2.2%, though in volume terms, the gain was 0.4%. May’s retail sales growth was revised to 1.1% from an earlier estimate.
