Analysis

This article analyses Holiday retail sales in 2004 by commodity as well as by province and territory using data from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey and the Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey. Western Canadians led the country last Christmas in December 2004, with Albertans spending more per capita in retail stores than consumers in any other province. For Canada as a whole, the pace of growth in sales in stores doubled in December 2004 compared with the same month in 2003. What did shoppers buy besides toys and clothing? Jewellery, cameras and small electrical appliances were very popular gift items for the season.

This article examines retail sales and household expenditures data from 1997 to 2002 to show the impact of homebuyers on furniture and appliance spending.

Consumers buy more in December than in any other month of the year. Consumers rush to get gifts for the Christmas season while retailers rely on this period to register a high proportion of their yearly sales. The most popular stores at Christmas time are jewellery, music, toy, book, clothing, and general merchandise stores. This article examines monthly and quarterly retail sales to show the importance of Christmas for consumers and retailers.

This article looks at trends in the Canadian retail clothing industry from 1997 to 2002. Findings include the following: there is a growing market share of unisex clothing stores at the expense of specialized men's and women's clothing stores, most clothing spending is for women's wear and there exists a similarity between men's and women's buying patterns. The information is based on data from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey and the Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey.

This article analyses Holiday retail sales in 2004 by commodity as well as by province and territory using data from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey and the Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey. Western Canadians led the country last Christmas in December 2004, with Albertans spending more per capita in retail stores than consumers in any other province. For Canada as a whole, the pace of growth in sales in stores doubled in December 2004 compared with the same month in 2003. What did shoppers buy besides toys and clothing? Jewellery, cameras and small electrical appliances were very popular gift items for the season.

This article examines retail sales and household expenditures data from 1997 to 2002 to show the impact of homebuyers on furniture and appliance spending.

Consumers buy more in December than in any other month of the year. Consumers rush to get gifts for the Christmas season while retailers rely on this period to register a high proportion of their yearly sales. The most popular stores at Christmas time are jewellery, music, toy, book, clothing, and general merchandise stores. This article examines monthly and quarterly retail sales to show the importance of Christmas for consumers and retailers.

This article looks at trends in the Canadian retail clothing industry from 1997 to 2002. Findings include the following: there is a growing market share of unisex clothing stores at the expense of specialized men's and women's clothing stores, most clothing spending is for women's wear and there exists a similarity between men's and women's buying patterns. The information is based on data from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey and the Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey.