Consumers are finding ways to cut back on their spending, especially in this part of the country.
The monthly report on retail sales which has a strong correlation to consumer confidence shows spending in decline. Overall, Canada saw retail spending drop marginally in April but the trend was evident in seven of the nine major subsectors the federal agency tracks.
The only ones with an increase were automotive and businesses selling building and garden supplies.
The biggest declines were in clothing outlets, sporting goods shops and furniture stores, retail segments where spending is more discretionary.
These figures also give us a bit of insight into how inflation is working and it suggests we are finally getting ahead of it.
Not only did the total number of dollars flowing through retail cash registers go down, the volume of activity fell even faster. In other words, we were buying fewer items and they were cheaper.
Saskatchewan saw the biggest decline in the country at 3.4-percent for the month and a full point below a year earlier.
