Statistics Canada reports retail sales up 0.6 per cent in June at $74.3B
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OTTAWA – Canadian retail sales rose 0.6 per cent to $74.3 billion in June, but Statistics Canada’s estimate for July suggested the gain was short lived as sales cooled a month later.
The agency said Friday its advance estimate for July pointed to a decline of 0.8 per cent for the month, though it cautioned the figure would be revised.
CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham said retail sales surged at the end of the second quarter, but appear to have stumbled slightly to start the third.
“However, through the monthly volatility the underlying trend still appears to be gradually upwards and that improvement should continue into next year,” Grantham wrote in a report.
For June, Statistics Canada says sales were up in seven of nine subsectors, including a 2.7 per cent increase at general merchandise stores.
Sales at clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers added 3.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, sales at food and beverage retailers fell 0.4 per cent as sales at supermarkets and other grocery retailers, except convenience retailers, dropped 0.6 per cent in June.
Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, gained 1.2 per cent in June.
Sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers rose one per cent, helped by a 1.5 per cent increase at new car dealers, while sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors fell 4.1 per cent.
In volume terms, overall retail sales increased 1.5 per cent in June.
TD Bank economist Maria Solovieva called it another solid month for retail sales, with both core spending and real activity rising for a second consecutive time.
“Taken together, the data point to ongoing real personal consumption growth in Q2 despite rising prices,” Solovieva wrote in a report.
The retail sales figures came ahead of Statistics Canada’s reading for gross domestic product for June and the second quarter as a whole that will be released on Aug. 28.
The agency’s preliminary estimate for June suggested growth of 0.2 per cent for the month and a 3.4 per cent annualized gain in the second quarter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2026.