StatCan: Retail sales up higher than expected in May

In their May 2022 release, StatCan revealed higher-than-expected retail sales of 2.2% month-over-month (MoM) – up from their 1.6% estimate.

While inflation aided the bump, total sales in constant prices (a way of adjusting for inflation since 2012) were up 0.4% month-over-month and 5.8% year-over year (YoY).

Other stats of note include:

• Food and beverage: Store sales went up 1.9% MoM; 1.1% up YoY; supermarket and non-convenience grocery sales up 1.4% MoM, down -0.6% YoY;
• Building material and garden supply: Sales down again MoM to -1.7% but still high vs May 2021’s total of 5.7%. Up 3.0% YoY in constant dollars.

StatCan’s full written analysis for May 2022 can be found here.