OTTAWA—Canadian retail sales fell in December after the growing popularity of Black Friday sales in advance of the holiday season boosted results in November. Excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales dropped 1.8 per cent. Sales at general merchandise stores fell 5.3 per cent in December, while health and personal care stores dropped 3.8 per cent. For all of 2017, retail sales increased 6.7 per cent to reach $588 billion, the highest annual growth rate since 1997. Retail e-commerce was 2.6 per cent of total retail sales last year, compared with 2.1 per cent in 2016.

Source: thestar February 22, 2018 16:30 UTC