The value of retail sales in Newfoundland and Labrador totalled $844.2 million in January 2026, a decrease of 7.1% compared to January 2025.
The largest declines in the actual value of retail sales occurred in ‘Gasoline stations and fuel vendors’ (-32.8%) and ‘Motor vehicle and parts dealers’ (-8.9%). The decline for ‘Gasoline stations and fuel vendors’ was largely due to lower prices for gasoline in January 2026 compared to January 2025, and partly due to the removal of the federal consumer carbon tax on April 1, 2025.
The largest gains in the actual value of retail sales occurred in ‘General merchandise retailers’ (+6.4%), ‘Food and beverage retailers’ (+3.7%) and ‘Health and personal care retailers’ (+5.7%).
At the national level, retail sales increased by 1.8% in January 2026 compared to January 2025. In January 2026, retail sales increased in every province on a year-over-year basis except for Newfoundland and Labrador, ranging from 0.4% in Saskatchewan to 5.7% in Alberta.
Statistics Canada’s Daily discusses retail sales on a seasonally adjusted basis. Seasonally adjusted retail sales for Newfoundland and Labrador increased by 0.8% in January 2026 compared to December 2025 and increased by 1.1% for Canada.
| Retail Sales by Subsector ($ Millions) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | ||||
| Jan 2025 | Jan 2026 | Actual Change | Percent Change | |
|
Motor vehicle and parts dealers1
|
250.0 | 227.8 | -22.2 | -8.9% |
| Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers | 52.5 | 39.7 | -12.7 | -24.3% |
| Food and beverage retailers | 162.4 | 168.3 | 5.9 | 3.7% |
| Furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retailers | 22.8 | 23.1 | 0.4 | 1.6% |
| General merchandise retailers | 126.7 | 134.8 | 8.1 | 6.4% |
| Health and personal care retailers | 90.7 | 95.9 | 5.2 | 5.7% |
| Gasoline stations and fuel vendors | 158.3 | 106.3 | -52.0 | -32.8% |
| Clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers | 16.8 | 15.9 | -0.9 | -5.2% |
| Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers | 29.0 | 32.3 | 3.3 | 11.2% |
|
Total Retail Trade Sales
|
909.2 | 844.2 | -65.0 | -7.1% |
| Note: The total and change may not sum due to independent rounding.
1 The motor vehicle figure displayed here includes some used car sales, as well as parts and service labour, and may be higher than those appearing in the New Motor Vehicle Sales Bulletin. Source: Statistics Canada. Table 20-10-0056-01. |
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Statistical Reference: For the latest in retail trade statistics visit the Newfoundland & Labrador Statistics Agency site and check the release dates on Statistics Canada site.