Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey, third quarter 2017
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Released: 2018-01-15
Retail sales in Canada totalled $153.1 billion in the third quarter, up 7.2% from the third quarter of 2016. Higher sales were recorded in 14 of 16 commodity groupings.
Sales of motor vehicles posted the largest increase, rising 9.9% to $32.5 billion. The largest contributor to the gain was new motor vehicles (+9.6%). The increase was led by new mini-vans, sport utility vehicles and light trucks. Sales of used automotive vehicles rose 10.5%.
Sales of hardware, tools, renovation and lawn and garden products were up 12.4%, a $1.3 billion increase. Of that increase, $741.0 million came from renovation materials and supplies (+8.8%).
Retail sales of food grew 4.8% to $25.0 billion. Three-quarters of food sales occurred at food and beverage stores. Sales of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages increased 4.9%.
Following two years of consecutive declines, automotive and household fuels (+8.0%) posted their fourth consecutive sales gain.
Sales of sporting and leisure products fell 5.5%. Within this group, sporting equipment (+7.4%) was the only commodity that posted gains in the third quarter.
Note to readers
The Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey collects national level retail sales by commodity, from the same businesses as in the Monthly Retail Trade Survey. Quarterly data have not been adjusted for seasonality. All percentage changes are year over year.
Beginning with the first quarter of 2017, published data are based on an updated sample. The new level of estimates has led to time series revisions back to the first quarter of 2012. These revisions also incorporate 2016 annual revisions, as well as some other historical revisions.
The quality rating of the series should be considered when making year-over-year comparisons of sales levels. Some of the year-over-year changes may reflect differences in the businesses selected in the old and new samples and/or the move to the North American Product Classification System in the third quarter of 2016. Estimates for major product groups are of higher quality than those for more specific products.
CANSIM table 080-0022 has been replaced by CANSIM table 080-0035.
Contact information
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