September Shows Strong Retail Sales Across All Segments

Retail sales reached $62 billion in September, an increase of 6.8 per cent compared with the same month in 2021, says Statistic Canada’s ‘Retail Commodity Survey, September 2022.’ Higher sales were reported in 16 of the 19 commodity classes, with sales in the hardware, tools, and renovation and lawn and garden products up eight per cent year over year to $5.2 million. The majority of the gain came from higher sales of renovation materials and supplies (+8 per cent), with lumber and other renovation materials and supplies (+9.2 per cent) accounting for the bulk of the increase. Overall, fuel sales had the highest increase (+21.2 per cent) while the audio and video recordings and game software segment had the lowest (-21.8 per cent). Home furniture, furnishings, housewares, appliances, and electronics were in the mid-range with a slight slowdown in sales of 0.2 per cent compared the year-ago period.