2020 WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR FOR SOME CANADIAN RETAILERS

Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a good year for many Canadian retailers. Preliminary yearend data by Statistics Canada show most retailing subsectors have returned to pre-pandemic levels of sales and some have more than offset losses early on in the crisis. The data illustrate how Canadian households have emerged from the economic crisis largely intact — cushioned by massive income support payments, a strong rebound in jobs, surging home prices and stock market gains. Retail sales in December are estimated at about 3 per cent above what they were in February — even with an expected sharp decline at the end of the year amid a fresh wave of new lockdowns. Nine of 11 subsectors tracked by StatCan surpassed pre-pandemic monthly sales levels, with gas stations and clothing stores the exception.