Canadian consumers are tapped out.
That is the stark headline atop a report issued by RBC Royal Bank which summarizes what they are seeing in activity on their clients’ credit and debit cards.
We will see some data on retail spending from StatsCan this week but it is usually a month or two behind what the banks are able to determine from activity in their customer accounts.
And what RBC sees for the end of the third quarter of this year is a sense of thriftiness nationally.
After a surge in back-to-school spending which seemed to drain our wallets, consumers pulled in their horns in September, especially on things like clothing and even on essentials like groceries and gasoline. But there are some stronger spots such as building supplies and sporting goods.
Overall, they say the total retail sales number will be slightly higher but the gains are not keeping up to population growth which should naturally cause sales to rise. In fact, they say on a per capita basis, Canadian retail spending growth is abysmal.
