Canadian retail sales rise 0.6% in June as early July tally shows decline

Core sales advance for a third month, led by general merchandise retailers

Canadian retail sales rose 0.6% in June from May to a seasonally adjusted 74.28 billion Canadian dollars (about US$53.87 billion), Statistics Canada said Friday. The month-on-month increase was a touch stronger than the 0.4% growth economists had expected and extended a six-month streak of consecutive monthly gains. Compared with a year earlier, June sales were up 5.2%.

An early tally of receipts, drawn from the responses of more than half of retailers surveyed, indicates sales fell 0.8% in July, which would be the first month-over-month decline since late 2025. Statistics Canada offered no details with its July estimate and said the figure would be revised. The agency also revised May’s growth slightly higher, to 1.1%.

The June advance was broad-based. Sales rose in seven of the nine industry segments Statistics Canada tracks, led by general merchandise stores, which include super centers, warehouse clubs and the country’s few remaining department stores. Consumers also bought more at clothing, accessories, shoe, luggage and leather goods stores. The sole decrease in core sales — a measure that excludes fuel and motor vehicles and parts — was at food and drink retailers, a segment dominated by supermarkets and grocery stores.

The headline figure was held back by gasoline stations and fuel vendors, where receipts fell for the first time in four months as prices retreated. Stripping out fuel, retail sales rose 1.2% between June and July, Statistics Canada said. Core sales rose for a third consecutive month, led for a second straight month by general merchandise retailers.

Analysis of cardholder activity by Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender, showed that consumers continued spending through what was a challenging quarter, likely drawing on savings or taking on debt amid higher energy costs and weak wage gains. The bank’s analysis found purchases of essentials excluding fuel grew for the period, while cardholder spending on discretionary goods recovered after a weak year and a half.

The retail data come against a backdrop of broader economic recovery. Industry-level data point to annualized expansion of 3.4% in the second quarter, which would be the strongest in roughly three years and follow back-to-back quarterly contractions. The housing market and resale activity have picked up after faltering earlier in the year, jobs data show a recovery in hiring, and surveys indicate businesses are adapting to a trade environment of uncertainty and U.S. tariffs.

Retail trade over the second quarter increased 2.2% in value, or a more modest 0.4% in volume terms, Statistics Canada said. The June figures come as the wider Canadian economy has rebounded after a weak start to the year.