Econowatch

Economists Stephen Gordon (ULaval), Mike Moffatt (Western) and Kevin Milligan (UBC), as well as Macleans.ca’s Erica Alini and guest bloggers write about the economy and economic policy in Canada, the U.S. and the world. We like charts. On Twitter, follow Stephen: @stephenfgordon; Mike: @mikepmoffatt; Kevin: @kevinmilligan and Erica: @ealini.

Categories: Business, Econowatch

Retail sales: Canadian shoppers have calmed down

by Erica Alini on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 10:15am - 0 Comments

(Eric Thayer/Reuters)

To recap:

Retail sales edged up 0.2 per cent in November, the fifth consecutive month of increases, Statistics Canada said this morning.
Most of the growth came from autos and auto parts, which recorded a healthy 1.8 per cent increase, as well as electronics and appliances, whereas most other store types registered declines.
In terms of volume, sales were up 0.8 per cent.
October retail activity was revised down to 0.5 per cent from a previous estimate of 0.7 per cent.

What the analysts are saying:

CIBC’s Emanuella Enenajor credited Black Friday for Canadians spending on electronics, home furnishing, sporting goods and hobby stores, and generous discounting for contributing to relatively high sales volumes.
TD’s Leslie Preston calculated that, with the downward revision for October, consumer spending in the last three months of the year will likely come in at 1.9 per cent, a much more subdued pace than the 3.8 per cent registered between July and September. That’s all good, though: slower spending will help households draw down their debt, while low interest rates and a decent labour market will ensure Canadians don’t suppress their shopping instincts entirely.