Alberta retail sales rose almost 13% in 2021

Key takeaways: 

• Retail deals are up on the year in December despite more down numbers.
• New data tells Albertans took part in a lot of retail therapy in 2021.

Alberta’s retail sales grew in the previous year: 

The pandemic is not blocking Albertans from shopping, new figures reveal. 

Alberta noticed retail solid sales digits in 2021, with total sales 13.1 percent higher than in 2020 and 10 percent higher than in 2019, according to research from ATB Financial, based on Statistics Canada figures.  Albertans also paid more in shops in 2021 than they have in eight years. 

ATB stated that, even when acclimated for inflation, sales in Alberta in 2021 passed levels not noticed since 2014 by 0.6 percent.

“There has been a little bit more money kicking around in the region in terms of, for instance, fewer individuals traveling,” stated analysis author Rob Roach, the deputy chief economist at ATB Financial.  Source – cbc.ca

He said this forced people to pay more at retail and online shops, with robust sales at car dealerships, health and personal care shops, building and garden centers, and general merchandise shops compared with 2020 and 2019.

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“A little bit of this is caused by inflation, not all of it,” he stated. Source – cbc.ca

But despite grown sales, it doesn’t mean all retail shops are doing okay across the board. 

“There’s also higher prices and the disruption of the pandemic and other factors. So these are overall numbers … it does run store to store,” Roach stated.  Source – cbc.ca

Compared with the last year, retail sales were down in December, despite general growth. 

Charles St-Arnaud, the chief economist at Alberta Central, a trade organization for the region’s credit unions, told flooding in B.C. and a rising surge of Omicron illnesses impacted spending but noted it’s essential to look at the larger picture.