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Positive trending was visible with All Stores sales, which fell only -3.9% this month, compared to a greater loss year-to-date. All Stores Less Automotive sales were up 1.5% for July, continuing this trend from last month.
Categories experiencing encouraging sales growth this month mainly included retailers selling needs-based products.
Pharmacies and Personal Care Stores performed exceedingly well with sales up 7.7% for the month and double its year-to-date results.
Food and Beverage Stores also fared well as sales rose by 5.8% for July. Super-markets mainly helped to boost the results.
Sales at Sporting Goods, Hobby, Music and Book Stores increased by 5.1% this month. Compared to the flat sales seen on average throughout the year, the lukewarm weather conditions experienced in July may have boosted results.
General Merchandise Stores’ sales for the month, while positive at 1.8% growth, still did not outdo its year-to-date growth of 2.2%.
Categories, in negative growth territory that also fared worse than their yearly average growth results, include the following:
* Miscellaneous Store sales were down by -5.0% compared to only -1.5% year-to-date.
* Computer, Software, Home Electronics, and Appliance Stores saw sales fall by -8.5%.
* Shoes, Clothing Accessories, and Jewellery Stores remained unchanged, with sales dropping by -4.1%.
Of the sectors that experienced a dip in July sales, many outperformed their year-to-date growth results, providing hope that the trend will continue for the rest of the third quarter.
Clothing Stores sales fell by -2.3% for the month, outperforming the -4.0% drop experienced on average this year.
Building and Outdoor Home Supplies Stores continued its positive trending as sales were down only -2.9%.
Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores sales also improved slightly, decreasing by only -9.7% in July, compared to -10.9% year-to-date.
This month’s sales results reveal that a large portion of the retail sectors is trending upwards. Combined with the growth in consumer confidence, retailers will be looking to capitalize on the positive vibes. As consumers and retailers are still wary of the down market, the positive trend will be a very slow but hopefully steady march upwards.
Release Date of the Next National Retail Bulletin: October 22, 2009
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For more information, please contact John Archer or Maureen Atkinson (416)921-4181 or e-mail or info@jcwg.com; Website: www.jcwg.com
Please note:
The J.C. Williams Group National Retail Bulletin compares the latest monthly release of “raw” (i.e., unadjusted for seasonality) retail sales figures to those in the same calendar month of the previous year. Statistics Canada also reports seasonally adjusted sales that are compared to the previous month within the current calendar year to measure change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Although other sources use seasonally adjusted figures, J.C. Williams Group believes that using raw figures and making comparisons to the previous year’s performance more accurately reflects the seasonality of the retail industry and, therefore, are more useful in analysis.
