While retail in Canada’s major cities is doing relatively well, spending at these stores in Montreal has fallen by as much as 30% over the past year.
• Also read: [SONDAGE] Due to inflation, more than half of young people live paycheck to paycheck
• Also read: Citizens want to take their initiative to sterilize Montreal’s street cats to produce babies
• Also read: “There are more Backstreet Boys fans” than orange bags, jokes Plante
Boarded up storefronts littered with “for rent” advertisements that hide a dark and dusty space have become a common sight on the streets of Montreal. And the numbers confirm that the bleeding continues.
According to Moneris, a company specializing in payment processing, clothing stores in Montreal experienced a 20% decline between May 2022 and 2023. Large stores (-30%) and second-hand stores (-29%) fared even worse.
Montrealers appear to have flocked to off-price stores, where their transaction volume increased by 24%, notes the company, which processes billions of transactions each year.
“On the other hand, we saw a 4% increase in numbers in August. This could be a sign of optimism. The return of children to school and parents to the office usually contributes to an increase in sales,” explains Pasquale Pizzi, spokesman for Moneris.
Montreal, fool of Canada
Montreal’s overall retail sector is down 7%. Elsewhere in Canada, the numbers are not nearly as grim. Toronto retail rose 1% over the same period.
There, discounters (21%), sports stores (24%) and music stores (23%) saw growth, as did toy and hobby shops (35%).
Retail sales also rose 2% in Edmonton and Calgary, where, in contrast to those in Montreal, men’s and women’s clothing stores increased their transaction volume by 33% and 36%, respectively.
Vancouver company revenue also rose 1% during the period.
Post-COVID is smiling on hoteliers
On the bright side, the end of health restrictions resulted in sales in the travel and leisure category in Montreal skyrocketing by 190%.
“This can be attributed to the fact that restrictions were still in effect at the beginning of 2022. Nationwide, however, this value is only 80%. “In Montreal it is much higher and continues to rise, while it has stabilized in the rest of Canada,” explains Pasquale Pizzi.
Leisure activities include going to the cinema, sporting events, traveling, in short everything that is “going out”. “Montrealers want to travel more. We want to go out and get together in a social environment,” the spokesperson added.
Montreal also saw a 38% increase in catering between February 2022 and 2023. The hotel industry recorded a spectacular increase of 87%.
This period corresponds to the end of Igloofest and the beginning of Montreal in Lights, festivals that celebrated their major in-person event for the first time since the health crisis.
“Tourism is definitely back. People feel more comfortable when they go out. And even though Quebecers complain about inflation, interest rates and expensive food, data shows people are continuing to eat out and travel. Quebecers continue to put these expenses on their list of priorities,” emphasizes Pasquale Pizzi.
– In collaboration with QMI Agency