Retailers throughout Canada experienced a better-than-expected summer in terms of sales, and now they are hoping to carry that momentum into the fall and holiday shopping seasons.

According to CTV Atlantic, an increase in tourists is what resulted in exceptional retail sales for merchants. Some retailers told the source that strong summer seasons usually indicate that holiday sales will be solid, and since the numbers were good during the warmer months, things are already looking up for the colder season. Steve Clerke, a retailer in Moncton, New Brunswick, said that he had to hire additional workers and extend the opening hours of his business to meet tourists' demands.

"We've been here for 27 years and we've seen such an incredible increase in tourism for us this summer," Clerke told the news source.

One aspect that might impact retailers this holiday season is ecommerce. Internet Retailer reports that a study by eMarketer found that Canadian online commerce is expected to surpass that of the United States. For this year, internet sales will grow 14.3 percent, compared to the 13.8 percent in the U.S. Ecommerce in Canada will account for $21.45 billion in total purchases.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 at 2:15 am .