Retail sales in Canada rose for the third consecutive month in January, by 0.4% and to 52.0 billion.

Numbers will in no doubt be impacted because of the coronavirus outbreak, but the change in the numbers will be more noticeable in the coming months, as some have already noted impacts on business activities.

The increase seen is most likely due to the higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, as well as gas stations. They were the largest contributor of the monthly gain, with higher sales being reported in each sub-section of the sector. Sales at new car dealers rose 1.5% in January to $11.3 billion, the second-highest level of sales on record. Sales at gasoline stations were up 1.5%. In volume terms, sales at gasoline stations rose 1.2%.

The other nine sub-sectors that make-up the core retail sector, came together to decline 0.3%. Sales did go up in 4 of the 11 sectors, that represent 48% of retail trade.

Sales were up in 8 provinces, including Alberta. According to Stats Canada, retail sales in Alberta (+1.6%) increased for the second consecutive month, the largest monthly gain since March 2019. Growth in January was driven by motor vehicle and parts dealers. Ontario (-0.8%) saw its largest monthly decline in retail sales since October 2019. The decrease in January was led by new car dealers.

Also released were the E-commerce sales by Canadian retailers. On an un-adjusted basis, retail e-commerce sales were $1.7 billion in January, accounting for 3.7% of total retail trade. On a year-over-year basis, retail e-commerce increased 9.8%, while total un-adjusted retail sales rose 3.9%.

You can see the full federal release here.