Canadian retailers received a chilly holiday reception from consumers to end 2014, as retail sales suffered their biggest monthly slump in more than four years.
Statistics Canada reported Friday that retail sales totaled $42.1 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis in December, down 2% from November. That represents the biggest one-month decline since April 2010.
And the nation's number crunchers noted that while sharply lower retail prices for gasoline were a factor (gas station sales plunged 7.4%), the overall sales slump was broadly based, with nine of 11 sectors showing declines. On a volume basis, factoring out price changes, retail sales fell 1.3% in the month.
The December sales drop more than offset November’s solid 0.4% rise. Holiday sales have commonly tapered off in December in recent years, reflecting the growing adoption in Canada of the big U.S. "Black Friday" sales to kick off the gift-buying season following the November Thanksgiving holiday south of the border. Nevertheless, this morning's figures signified the biggest December downturn since the start of the latest recession in 2008.
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