According to the report from Statistics Canada, retail sales fell for the second consecutive month, down 1.1% to $52.5 billion in January. Economists had expected a 3.0% decrease. Sales declined in 6 of 11 subsectors, representing 39.4% of retail sales.

Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers—also posted their second consecutive decline, falling 1.4% in January because of lower sales at clothing and clothing accessories stores, furniture and home furnishings stores, and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores.

In terms of volume, retail sales fell 1.6% in January.

Given the rapidly evolving economic situation, Statistics Canada is providing an advance estimate of retail sales, which suggests that sales increased by 4.0% in February. Owing to its preliminary nature, this figure will be revised.

This unofficial estimate was calculated based on responses received from 58% of companies surveyed. The average final response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months has been 86.5%.