Following three consecutive monthly increases, retail sales in April declined 1.2% to $49.5 billion. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers. Inclement weather in many parts of Canada may have contributed to the overall decline in April. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales were down 0.1% in April.

Sales were down in 8 of 11 subsectors, representing 65% of retail trade.

Removing the effect of price changes, retail sales in volume terms declined 1.4%.