Quebec retail sales rose 2.6% to $13.97 million between September and October, according to Statistics Canada data released on Tuesday.
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For the country as a whole, retail sales grew 1.4% between September and October 2022 to reach $62 billion, the largest increase in five months.
The province of La Belle is one of the nine provinces whose retail sales have increased. In the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), they grew by 4.9%.
Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia recorded the largest increases (+5.9%) between September and October 2022, while Ontario was the only province to record a decrease in retail sales (-0.3%).
According to Statistics Canada, most of the increase in retail sales in the country was due to a surge in sales at service stations (+6.8%), “a first increase in four months”.
Core retail sales posted their second increase in five months (+0.9%) in October, mainly driven by grocery store sales, which were also up (+2.2%). Sales in supermarkets and other grocery stores (excluding convenience stores) also increased (+2.5%).
Drug and personal care stores also increased sales (+1.3%), while the largest retail sales decline was seen at other retail stores (-1.3%).
Seasonally adjusted retail e-commerce sales fell 4.6% in October.
Year over year, retail sales grew 6.4% in Canada and 7% in Quebec.
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