OTTAWA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Canada's retail sales fell 3.4 percent to 53.4 billion Canadian dollars in December 2020, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Sales were down in nine of 11 subsectors, representing 83.6 percent of retail sales.

Core retail sales, which exclude sales by gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, saw their slowest growth since last April, falling 4.6 percent in December due to lower sales at general merchandise stores and clothing and clothing accessories stores, as well as sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores.

In volume terms, retail sales dropped 3.6 percent in December.

On a quarterly basis, retail sales rose 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter of 2020, while retail sales in volume terms were up 0.8 percent.

With the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Canada in December, the country's provincial governments began to reintroduce physical distancing measures, which directly affected the retail sector.

Approximately 15 percent of retailers were closed in December, Statistics Canada said.

The COVID-19 pandemic led consumers to change their shopping habits and retailers to change their business practices, and this impacted retail sales.

Canadian retailers finished 2020 with 606 billion Canadian dollars in sales, down 1.4 percent from 2019.

It was the largest annual decline since the 2009 recession, as the onset of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020 and related health measures led to the temporary closure of many non-essential brick-and-mortar retailers across the country.

Limitations on in-person shopping and gatherings also contributed to a 1.7 percent volume decline in sales, also the largest drop since 2009. Enditem

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