COVID-19 Impact Analysis and 2020 Outlook: The Retail Services Price Index

This article contributes to a series studies of COVID-19 impact on Canadian industries, with focus on the Retail Services Price Index (RSPI). The study analyzes the movements of RSPI during 2020 pandemic by subsectors, including clothing stores, grocery stores, and electronic stores, etc. It also compares different responses of retail sectors during 2020 pandemic and during 2008-2009 recession. Based on the in-depth analysis, the article also provides an outlook of the price index trend for the year 2020.