What is happening in the Canadian marketplace? It doesn’t look good!

BY STEVEN KASZAB

Restaurant and retail sales continue their downward trend throughout Canada. Canadian Statistics and Census Service tells of a continual downward sales trend, with little good news for the local restaurants, mom-and-pop shops or even mid-sized retailers. March restaurant receipts declined by 2.7-8% or more, compared to the same time last year. This is bad news for a sector that has been struggling on razor-thin margins, facing continual rising food supply costs.

Only budgetary eateries showed a modest rise in receipts, at 2.8% – 6% year to year, suggesting that diners are seeking affordable fare. During the pandemic, many households decided to cook their own food, with special moments where take out was delivered. The cost of food acts much like the Toronto Stock Exchange, on an erratic up-down profile, with reasonable specials added to bring the public in to buy.

Restaurants’ pre-pandemic sales have not been reached, not even close. Large retailers bounced back, increasing their prices accordingly. Retail sales fell by 22.4% in March, with those in the: watches, furniture, jewelry and cosmetics sector feeling the sales decline the most. Sales of essential items remained steady with a small decline, while items not essential to the public’s survival, discretionary items dropped drastically.

The public has responded to their financial situation by denying themselves the: products, services and items that were once essential to their consumer needs like: brands, entertainment and products of leisure. Bread, eggs and meat have become the substitute for costly items of leisure. This trend will continue for some time, so long as the cost of living continues to rise.

By the end of this summer, many shops in your downtown shopping center will be boarded up, empty, or once traditional shops known to you will be replaced by corporate shops and eatery chains. Once the basis of community pride, the mom-and-pop shops with other independent retail businesses of small-town Canada will disappear, washed away by the overhanded competitive avarice of corporate Canada.

Sales methodologies have evolved from face-to-face contact with your favorite retailer, or restaurateur to online purchasing, A.I. controlled procedures, take out deliveries and at home entertainment centers. Shopping malls are reimagining themselves, moving from a collection of shops to an entertainment-pleasure zone with shopping available.