Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, retail sales were up 0.4%
StatsCan reports last year’s growth in retail sales was the slowest since the financial crisis
The advance followed a 0.2% rise in sales in December
Sales beat expectations, according to Refinitiv
After a slow start to the holiday shopping season, sales rose 0.3% in December
Economists had predicted an increase of 0.5%
The results matched economic expectations