Clothing sales rebound past 2019 levels – RBC Economics

Clothing sales rebounded to above 2019 levels in late June and early July, according to a recent RBC consumer spending report. The bank postulates that the spike is linked to the wider reopening of restaurants and bars, and further expects that retail sales will grow +4.4% June to claw back the month-on-month decline StatCan released for May sales.

Consumer spending was also up in early July, hitting 13% above 2019 levels, suggesting that pent-up demand is finally filtering out into the wider economy.