Although Statistics Canada reported sales dropped from June to July 2014 by 0.1 per cent, this is based on its seasonally adjusted data, which are comprised of estimates.
In reality, July 2014 retail sales grew 6.6 per cent since July 2013 when not seasonally adjusted, which was the largest single-month gain in over two years. In addition, sales from May until July grew by 5.3 per cent year-over-year, which is again higher than numbers seen over the past two and a half years, which can be seen more in Food and Drug and Store Merchandise categories, as opposed to the Automotive sector as in years past.
Food and Drug sector stores experienced sustained sales growth over the last few months. Health and personal care stores saw an increase of 6.8 per cent for the three months ending in July 2014, compared with sales from the same period one year ago. Supermarkets also saw a gain of 1.3 per cent for the period ending in July.
