In 2022, Canadian retail posted $802.4 billion in total sales and e-commerce climbed to $55.7 billion, but the customer shift is even more telling. With inflation pushing 62% of shoppers to trade down and 82% still buying in physical stores monthly, the mix of in store habits and online acceleration is far from uniform across the country. Below are the key figures behind how Canadians spent, shopped, and worked in retail that year.
Key Takeaways
- Total consumer spending on retail goods was $645 billion in 2022 excluding housing
- 82% of Canadians shopped in physical stores monthly in 2022
- Average household retail spend was $42,800 in 2022
- E-commerce sales in Canada reached $55.7 billion in 2022, up 15% from 2021
- Online retail penetration was 6.9% of total retail sales in 2022
- Mobile commerce accounted for 52.3% of e-commerce sales in 2022
- In 2022, total retail sales in Canada reached $802.4 billion, marking a 6.5% increase from 2021
- Canadian retail e-commerce sales grew by 15.2% year-over-year in Q4 2022, accounting for 4.8% of total retail sales
- Grocery store sales in Canada totaled $128.9 billion in 2022, representing 16.1% of total retail sales
- Retail sales projected to grow 3.2% in 2023 nominally
- E-commerce expected to reach 10% of total retail by 2025
- Retail inflation forecasted at 4.1% for 2023
- The retail sector employed 2.1 million people in 2022, representing 10.7% of total employment
- Retail employment grew by 3.2% year-over-year in December 2022 to 2.15 million
- Average hourly wage in retail trade was $21.45 in 2022, up 5.8% from 2021
In 2022, Canadian retail hit $802.4 billion, with inflation pushing more in store spending and e commerce up 15%.
Related reading
01 · Category
Consumer Insights26 stats
01
Total consumer spending on retail goods was $645 billion in 2022 excluding housing
02
82% of Canadians shopped in physical stores monthly in 2022
03
Average household retail spend was $42,800in 2022
04
Inflation drove 62% of shoppers to trade down to cheaper brands in 2022
05
71% of consumers prioritized price over brand in 2022 retail purchases
06
Grocery spending per household averaged $12,400in 2022, up 9.2%
07
Clothing expenditure per capita was $1,056in 2022
08
54% of shoppers used loyalty programs weekly in 2022
09
Online price comparison done by 67% before purchase in 2022
10
Sustainable products influenced 48% of purchases in 2022
11
Gen Z spent 23% more on experiences but 15% less on goods in 2022
12
39% reduced discretionary spending due to inflation in 2022
13
Urban consumers spent 28% more on retail than rural in 2022
14
76% of millennials used BNPL services for retail in 2022
15
Food delivery apps used by 45% weekly in 2022
16
61% prefer in-store for groceries, 52% online for electronics in 2022
17
Average shopping trip frequency was 12.4 per month in 2022
18
Impulse buys accounted for 28% of retail sales volume in 2022
19
53% of boomers shop alone, 34% of Gen Z with family in 2022
20
Health products spending up 22% to $4,200 per household in 2022
21
44% abandoned carts due to high shipping costs in 2022 e-retail
22
Regional disparity: Prairies spent 12% more per capita on autos in 2022
23
69% influenced by social media in fashion buys 2022
24
Household debt servicing ratio impacted 31% to cut retail spend 2022
25
58% of consumers returned items in-store post-online buy in 2022
26
Vegan/plant-based food sales influenced 19% of grocery baskets 2022
Interpretation
Consumer Insights Interpretation
In Canadian retail in 2022, consumers showed a strong price-first shift with 62% trading down to cheaper brands and 71% prioritizing price over brand even as grocery spending rose to $12,400 per household, underscoring that everyday affordability is the core consumer insight driving shopping choices.
02 · Category
Digital Transformation30 stats
01
E-commerce sales in Canada reached $55.7 billion in 2022, up 15% from 2021
02
Online retail penetration was 6.9% of total retail sales in 2022
03
Mobile commerce accounted for 52.3% of e-commerce sales in 2022
04
Amazon.ca generated $12.4 billion in Canadian e-sales in 2022
05
Shopify-powered stores contributed $42 billion to Canadian e-commerce in 2022
06
Food and beverage e-sales grew 28.4% to $8.2 billion in 2022
07
Fashion e-commerce sales hit $14.1 billion in 2022, 25% of category total
08
Electronics online sales were $10.3 billion in 2022, up 18.7%
09
62% of Canadians shopped online weekly in 2022
10
Average online order value was $112CAD in 2022
11
Digital payment adoption in retail reached 78% in 2022
12
Contactless payments used in 85% of retail transactions in 2022
13
Retail apps downloads grew 22% to 45 million in 2022
14
Omnichannel retailers saw 30% higher sales growth in 2022
15
Buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) orders up 45% to 12 million in 2022
16
41% of retail SMBs adopted AI chatbots in 2022
17
Cybersecurity incidents in retail e-stores rose 19% to 2,400 in 2022
18
Ontario e-commerce sales were $22.1 billion in 2022, 39.7% national share
19
Quebec online retail hit $13.4 billion in 2022
20
BC e-sales totaled $8.9 billion in 2022, up 17.2%
21
Average e-commerce growth rate 2017-2022 was 18.4%
22
Social commerce sales reached $4.2 billion in 2022 via Instagram/FB
23
Voice commerce in retail projected at 1% but grew 150% in 2022
24
AR/VR used in 15% of fashion e-retail trials in 2022
25
73% of consumers used retailer apps for loyalty in 2022
26
Pandemic accelerated e-commerce by 5 years in 2022 metrics
27
55% of Gen Z prefer online-only shopping in 2022 surveys
28
68% of Canadian households have high-speed internet supporting e-retail in 2022
29
Grocery e-commerce penetration reached 12.4% in 2022
30
47% of consumers expect same-day delivery in urban retail 2022
Interpretation
Digital Transformation Interpretation
Canadian retail is accelerating its digital transformation as e-commerce sales hit $55.7 billion in 2022, a 15% jump from 2021, with mobile driving 52.3% of those sales and online retail reaching 6.9% of total retail.
03 · Category
Financial Performance30 stats
01
In 2022, total retail sales in Canada reached $802.4 billion, marking a 6.5% increase from 2021
02
Canadian retail e-commerce sales grew by 15.2% year-over-year in Q4 2022, accounting for 4.8% of total retail sales
03
Grocery store sales in Canada totaled $128.9 billion in 2022, representing 16.1% of total retail sales
04
Clothing and clothing accessories stores reported $32.4 billion in sales in 2022, up 8.7% from the previous year
05
General merchandise stores saw sales of $52.1 billion in 2022, a 10.2% rise driven by inflation
06
Building material and garden equipment sales hit $47.6 billion in 2022, fueled by home renovation trends
07
Automotive parts and accessories sales reached $15.3 billion in 2022, increasing 12.4%
08
Food and beverage stores accounted for 25.3% of total retail sales in December 2022 at $20.1 billion
09
Health and personal care stores sales were $28.7 billion in 2022, up 7.9%
10
Electronics and appliance stores generated $18.2 billion in sales in 2022, a 5.6% growth
11
Sporting goods stores sales totaled $9.4 billion in 2022, rising 14.3% post-pandemic
12
Book stores and news dealers had $2.1 billion in sales in 2022, down 2.5% due to digital shift
13
Furniture and home furnishings sales were $21.5 billion in 2022, up 9.1%
14
Gasoline stations sales reached $112.4 billion in 2022, 14% of total retail
15
Pharmacies and drug stores sales hit $35.6 billion in 2022, growing 11.2%
16
Department stores sales were $14.8 billion in 2022, declining 3.4% amid closures
17
Beer and wine-making supplies stores saw $1.2 billion in 2022, up 6.8%
18
Florists sales totaled $1.8 billion in 2022, increasing 4.2%
19
Used merchandise stores generated $3.4 billion in 2022, up 18.7% thrift trend
20
Retail sales per capita in Canada averaged $20,456in 2022
21
Ontario accounted for 37.2% of national retail sales in 2022 at $298.5 billion
22
Quebec retail sales were $169.4 billion in 2022, 21.1% of total
23
British Columbia's retail sales hit $102.3 billion in 2022, up 7.8%
24
Alberta retail sales totaled $94.7 billion in 2022, growing 5.3%
25
Manitoba's retail sales were $28.1 billion in 2022, 3.5% share
26
Saskatchewan retail sales reached $22.4 billion in 2022, up 6.1%
27
Retail trade GDP contribution was 5.8% or $132 billion in 2022
28
Average retail sales growth rate 2018-2022 was 4.7% annually
29
Inflation-adjusted retail sales grew 2.1% in 2022
30
Retail sales excluding autos rose 4.3% in 2022
Interpretation
Financial Performance Interpretation
In 2022, Canadian retail financial performance stayed strong as total sales climbed to $802.4 billion, a 6.5% rise, while e-commerce accelerated with 15.2% year over year growth in Q4 2022 and helped keep online sales at 4.8% of the total.
More related reading
04 · Category
Market Outlook27 stats
01
Retail sales projected to grow 3.2% in 2023 nominally
02
E-commerce expected to reach 10% of total retail by 2025
03
Retail inflation forecasted at 4.1% for 2023
04
1,200 new retail stores planned for 2023 openings
05
Grocery sector to grow 4.5% annually to 2027
06
25% of physical stores to close by 2030 due to e-commerce shift
07
Sustainability to drive 35% sales premium by 2025
08
AI adoption in retail to reach 65% by 2025, boosting efficiency 20%
09
Labour shortage to persist, needing 150,000 new retail workers by 2025
10
Omnichannel sales to comprise 50% of total by 2025
11
BNPL market to grow to $10B by 2025 in Canada
12
Food delivery market projected at $15B by 2027, CAGR 12%
13
Fashion retail recovery to 5% growth in 2024 post-2023 slowdown
14
Vacant retail space to drop to 3% by 2025 with repurposing
15
Ontario retail sales forecast $320B in 2023
16
Western Canada retail growth 3.8% in 2023 on population boom
17
Supply chain disruptions to ease, reducing costs 8% by 2024
18
Personalization tech to increase basket size 15% by 2025
19
Thrift/second-hand market to hit $12B by 2027, CAGR 11%
20
EV charging retail integration in 40% of new stores by 2030
21
Gen Alpha to influence 20% of family purchases by 2025
22
Retail real estate investment up 12% to $8B in 2023
23
Cross-border e-commerce from US to Canada $25B projected 2023
24
Health retail to grow 6.2% CAGR to 2028 on aging population
25
Pop-up stores to increase 30% as testing model by 2024
26
Recession risk: Retail sales flat in real terms 2023 Q1 forecast
27
Luxury retail sales up 8% in 2023 on affluent recovery
Interpretation
Market Outlook Interpretation
From a market outlook perspective, Canadian retail is projected to grow 3.2% in 2023 while e-commerce is expected to reach 10% of total retail by 2025, and this shift is already visible with 25% of physical stores expected to close by 2030.
05 · Category
Workforce25 stats
01
The retail sector employed 2.1 million people in 2022, representing 10.7% of total employment
02
Retail employment grew by 3.2% year-over-year in December 2022 to 2.15 million
03
Average hourly wage in retail trade was $21.45in 2022, up 5.8% from 2021
04
Women comprised 52.3% of retail workforce in 2022, with 1.1 million employed
05
Youth aged 15-24 made up 28.4% of retail employees in 2022, totaling 596,000
06
Part-time workers accounted for 42.7% of retail employment in 2022
07
Retail managers numbered 112,000 in 2022, earning average $48,200annually
08
Retail salespersons and clerks totaled 912,000 in 2022, 43.5% of sector jobs
09
Cashiers employment was 214,000 in 2022, down 1.2% from peak
10
Store shelf stockers numbered 156,000 in 2022, up 4.5%
11
Food counter attendants employed 198,000 in retail in 2022
12
Labour turnover rate in retail was 18.6% in 2022, highest among sectors
13
Retail vacancy rate averaged 4.2% in 2022, improved from 6.1% in 2021
14
Ontario had 890,000 retail workers in 2022, 42.3% of national total
15
Quebec retail employment was 512,000 in 2022, 24.4% share
16
BC retail jobs totaled 312,000 in 2022, up 2.8%
17
Alberta employed 278,000 in retail in 2022, 13.2% of total
18
Training hours per retail employee averaged 28 hours annually in 2022
19
Unionized retail workers were 15.2% of workforce in 2022
20
Remote work in retail offices was 12% in 2022, low due to in-store needs
21
Retail employee satisfaction score averaged 68/100 in 2022 surveys
22
Average retail workweek was 27.4 hours in 2022
23
Immigrant workers comprised 32.1% of retail employment in 2022
24
Indigenous employment in retail was 4.3% or 90,000 in 2022
25
Disability employment rate in retail was 22.5% in 2022
Interpretation
Workforce Interpretation
In 2022, Canada’s retail workforce totaled 2.1 million people and was still growing, with employment reaching 2.15 million in December, while wages rose to $21.45 an hour and the workforce remained heavily weighted toward part-time work at 42.7%.
report visual · Comparison
How Canadians shop: in-store vs online (2022)
Most shopping happens in-store regularly, but online engagement is also high—creating a strong omnichannel retail mix.
82% of Canadians shopped in physical stores monthly in 202282%
62% of Canadians shopped online weekly in 2022
62%
Mobile commerce accounted for 52.3% of e-commerce sales in 2022
52.3%
Online retail penetration was 6.9% of total retail sales in 2022
6.9%
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Thomas Lindqvist. (2026, February 13). Canadian Retail Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/canadian-retail-industry-statistics
MLA
Thomas Lindqvist. "Canadian Retail Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/canadian-retail-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Thomas Lindqvist. 2026. "Canadian Retail Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/canadian-retail-industry-statistics.
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