Canadian retailers see slow growth in 2012
For Canadian retailers, last year did not produce the retail sales they were hoping for. Businesses and consumers across the North American country are keeping their fingers crossed that 2012 will surpass last year's amounts, although some recent reports state that sales have stalled or are only slowly improving. On the other hand, some studies are forecasting that this year will see a boost in the number of ecommerce retail sales for Canadian companies. Industry experts anticipate that online purchases might even surpass American growth in the market.
Canadian retail sales slow down during second quarter
According to recent research by KubasPrimedia, during the second quarter of 2012, retail sales in Canada saw only a 2.8 percent increase from the same time last year, reports The Star. The study's authors say this is one of the poorest results since the economic recession. For the first quarter, year-over-year growth rose by 5.6 percent, which was the highest amount since the downturn.
Industry experts told the news source that Canadian consumers are worried about economic conditions as well as debt and employment. In order to have a successful year for retail sales, the numbers should be steady throughout the year and growth should be sustained leading up to and all the way through the holiday shopping season.
One sector that has performed well is clothing, as sales growth for apparel rose by 7.7 percent from 2011's amounts. This increase happened during the first six months of this year. Health and personal care stores also saw boosts, although sales were not as high as was hoped for.
Next few years to see boost in Canadian ecommerce
While Canadian retail sales have been producing less-than-expected results, ecommerce is anticipated to grow significantly over the next few years. According to recent research by eMarketer, growth of online sales will increase by 14.3 percent this year and continue to rise, states Internet Retailer. The study also states that this figure will surpass American internet retail sales, which will come in at a 13.8 percent increase for 2012.
Industry experts believe that ecommerce growth will slow down after this year, but Canada is expected to grow by 11 percent in 2016, while the United States will increase by only 9.4 percent. These are significant forecasts, as Canada has approximately 33.4 million citizens, which represents 10.7 percent of the population of the U.S.
