Retail sales in B.C. managed a 0.1% increase in December from November, one of the lowest increases in the country, according to Statistics Canada data released Friday.
Total sales rose to $4.63 billion from $4.62 billion in November, resulting in a second consecutive increase, following a 0.5% decline between November and October.
New Brunswick reported the largest monthly increase (2%), followed by Alberta (1.8%), Saskatchewan (0.9%), Quebec (0.7%), Nunavut (0.7%) and Manitoba (0.3%).
The Northwest Territories reported the largest decline in sales (-3.6%), followed by the Yukon (-1.7%), Newfoundland (-1.2%), Nova Scotia (-0.7%), and Ontario (-0.2%).
Nationally, sales increased in five of eight retail sectors, with general merchandisers reporting the largest increase of 3.3%. Sales at clothing and accessories stores rose 2.1% with shoe sales rising 5.2% and clothing, accessories and jewelry stores reporting a 1.2% increase in sales.
For the year, retail sales were up from their lows in December 2008. B.C. sales have recovered 8.7% year-over-year from $4.26 billion in December 2008. It's one of the largest increases following the Yukon's 11.8% increase and Nova Scotia's 10.1% increase.