Preliminary figures show that retail spending in Canada declined 0.5% in November from a year earlier as consumer spending slowed heading into the holiday shopping season.
November’s decline follows a 1.4% gain in retail sales during the previous month of October, said Statistics Canada.
The weakness in November retail sales also comes despite Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales extravaganzas held nationwide at the end of the month.
For October, higher prices boosted sales at gasoline stations by 6.8%, but gas station sales in volume terms dropped by 3.3%. Sales at food and beverage stores rose 2.2%, led higher by supermarkets, which gained 2.5%.
Core retail sales in October, which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle dealers, rose 0.9%.
At the same time, sales at furniture and home furnishing stores fell 1% in October from September of this year.
Statistics Canada noted that its preliminary retail sales figure for November will be revised in the coming month.
