2023 is delivering challenges for Canadian retailers – Retail West will help you meet them!

The RCC Retail Conditions Report for Fall 2023 described a challenging retail environment in the last portion of 2023.

For June-September of this year retailers reported mixed results, with 40% reporting sales increases over 2022, 50% reporting decreases and the remainder reporting no change. Performance to plan was also mixed, with 22% reporting actual sales over plan, 72% reporting actual sales lower than plan, and 6% reporting a match. Back to school delivered middling performance, with consumers focussed on shopping for essentials. These results match Statistics Canada reporting that 2023’s monthly YoY growth rates were above 2019 averages for the first five months of the year, but then decreased in May and again in June from a high of 3.9% in April.

Challenges included the Great Buy Forward, as consumers bought durable goods during the pandemic that don’t yet require replacement. In addition, they are shifting their attention to purchases of travel & experiences while 10 consecutive interest rate hikes are forcing them to make serious decisions about where to spend their shrinking discretionary income. The net result is that Canadians are continuing to shop and spend, but buying behaviour is shifting to basics and needs.

With these challenges, retailers reported that their key question was economic uncertainty brought on by our current combination of increased prices and interest rates, low unemployment and increased wages.

Keeping ahead in uncertain time requires retail professionals who understand the current environment and trends, and are aware of creative strategies and new tools. Attending Retail West will give you the opportunity to do just that – and you can see the full list of Retail West presentations by consultants and retail industry leaders here.

While at Retail West you’ll be able to network with hundreds of Retail industry professionals and learn more about :

• The past and future for some of Canada’s most iconic and talked about retail brands
• Retail marketing in times of changing consumer behaviour and uncertain economic times, including real life examples from some of Canada’s leading retailers
• Insights on leveraging the employee experience, serving Canada’s multicultural consumers, and Artificial Intelligence
• And more...

For more information on the conference, visit the Retail West web page:

We’re proud to be sponsoring the RCC’s Retail West Conference for 2023, learning and sharing alongside you and other Retail industry professionals. It’s one of the ways we ensure we remain on the leading edge of recruiting for the Canadian Retail industry from our offices across the country.

If you can’t make it to Retail West – or even if you can – sign up for our periodic newsletters with information on current Retail industry issues, the Retail job market, and other news.