Canada September 2020 retail sales report highlights:
- Fifth consecutive increase
- Prior was +0.4%
- Retail sales ex autos +1.0% m/m vs 0.0% expected
- Prior ex autos +0.5% m/m
- Sales up in 9 of 11 subsectors
- Sales up 22.6% compared to Q2
- Prelim October data suggests sales were largely unchanged
- E-commerce sales up 74.3% y/y
Sales at food and beverage stores were particularly strong but one of the reasons was higher prices for meat, fish, dairy and vegetables.
Vehicle sales continued to be strong, rising 1.5% in September and are up 2.5% y/y with trucks particularly strong.
This number confirms a strong GDP number for Q3 but the Canadian dollar hardly reacted, perhaps owing to that flat guidance for October. What's important to note is that Canadian government benefits have been among the most-generous in the world and there is a huge savings rate in Canada that should pay dividends in the quarters ahead.
