Paul Martin Commentary
Normally a decline in retail sales activity or consumer spending would be considered a negative indicator for the economy but there’s always an exception to the rule. 2025 was one of those exceptions.
The year-end number on consumer spending at the retail level was down both nationally and provincially here in Saskatchewan. And that’s because of falling gasoline prices. They were down double digits last year so we were shelling out less money to fill up at the pump. Everything else was holding its own.
According to the StatsCan figures, the volume of purchases did not decline even though we spent less. That’s the gasoline effect.
We tend to look at retail spending as a barometer of consumer sentiment or confidence and it seems the negatives highlighted in economic news did not put a damper on the mood.
But one thing we did learn is that November is now the bigger contributor to the Christmas season than December as Black Friday is a more potent retail force than Boxing Day as sales actually backed off after a strong November showing.
