Renovations Drive Sales Increase

As Canadians continue to renovate and complete projects around the house, sales of hardware, tools, and renovation and lawn and garden products grew 9.7 per cent in August, says Statistics Canada. The majority of the gain came from higher sales of renovation materials and supplies (+10.4 per cent), with sales of lumber and other renovation materials and supplies (+9.9 per cent) accounting for the bulk of the increase. Higher sales of home lawn and garden equipment and supplies (+9.9 per cent) and hardware and tools (+5.7 per cent) also contributed to the increase in the product class. Retail sales reached $64.6 billion in August, an increase of 8.7 per cent compared with the same month in 2021. Higher sales were reported in 18 of the 19 commodity classes. In August, the largest contributor to the increase in retail sales in dollar terms was higher sales of automotive and household fuels (+29.7 per cent).