StatsCan: Retail e-commerce sales higher than pre-pandemic levels

Last week, Statistics Canada released a report on retail e-commerce sales since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the whole, retail e-commerce sales have receded as of July 2022 but remain well above pre-pandemic levels. The share of retail e-commerce sales, as a proportion of total retail sales, rose from 3.9% in 2019 to 6.2% in 2022 (July year to date).

During the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the shares of retail e-commerce sales were 6.6% and 6.9%, respectively. The retail e-commerce share of total retail sales peaked in 2021 as retailers were impacted by a second wave of store closures during the first half of 2022.