News
Retail sales flat in March

May 23, 2013, Ottawa — Canadian retail sales were flat in March, and garden centre sales were no exception.

Building material and garden equipment and supply stores edged up 0.1 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. Sales in the sector have been relatively flat since the middle of 2012.

After accounting for the effect of price changes, particularly lower gasoline prices, overall retail sales rose 0.7 per cent in volume. Higher sales were reported in six of the 11 sectors that Statistics Canada tracks, including clothing and accessories stores (3.1 per cent), motor vehicle and parts dealers (0.7 per cent) and furniture and home furnishing stores (0.3 per cent).