Retail sales fell 1.8 percent to $57 billion in December, StatCan reports. Lower sales at clothing and furniture stores led the decline, which coincided with concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in December. Sales were down in eight of 11 subsectors.
Following four consecutive monthly gains, sales at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers fell five percent in December. Sales nevertheless remained elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels recorded in December 2019.
