Nicholas Kyriacopoulos: The State of Retail Market in Canada in 2022

The Canadian retail market saw good growth in 2021, but can it sustain that growth in 2022? Many experts in the field, including entrepreneur Nick Kyriacopoulos, have been monitoring market trends as they formulate their plans for the final three quarters of this year. While nothing is set in stone, you can expect the following trends to shape the remainder of 2022.

The Shape of Canadian E-commerce

Online sales thrived for many Canadian businesses in 2021, allowing experts who were prepared for that level of growth, such as Nick Kyriacopoulos, to profit greatly. In fact, Canada’s e-commerce saw stronger growth than its United States counterpart in 2021. However, this surge isn’t sustainable in the long term, and as a result, many experts expect things to cool off in 2022, with the level of growth eventually dipping below that of the United States once again. This is not to say that e-commerce in Canada is a failing business: it is still likely to grow, even if it does not eclipse the US market again. However, it does mean that people who think they can make a quick dollar by diving into the e-commerce industry may be mistaken if they don’t take all the factors into consideration.

Early Year Recovery

Despite a successful year for e-commerce, retail sales in Canada slowed near the end of 2021, with growth easing off in November and then dropping significantly in December. However, January and February both saw increases in retail sales as people started the new year off strong. This may be a simple matter of self-correction, but it is a positive trend that will hopefully continue. The numbers for growth, however, remain in the low single digits compared to 2021, which saw double-digit growth in retail over the course of the year. Some investors will likely be disappointed that Canada will not reach such a level in 2022, but the high volatility of the global market makes any growth and recovery a good thing.

Rise of the Specialty Market

Nicholas Kyriacopoulos, like many other entrepreneurs seeking to stay ahead in a competitive market, keeps a close eye on growth trends to make sure that he can stay one step ahead of the competition. In this regard, specialty retailers have seen a consistent increase among Canada’s e-commerce offerings. The ability to reach a broad population of users and to promote via social media and video streaming has created more revenue possibilities for storefronts that would normally struggle to do enough sales to stay afloat. Specialty retailers grew by over 20% in 2021, a trend which is likely to continue. The most successful businesses in this regard utilize tutorials, videos, and other useful content to enhance their standing in online searches.

Supply Chain Considerations

The COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting consequences have largely crippled the global supply chain. As a result, many businesses that rely on shipping their goods have struggled to get products to customers in a timely manner. There are only so many things you can do to mitigate these problems. Posting notices about supply chain disruptions helps consumers stay alert, but may not help with patience. Some companies who rely on international suppliers are switching to local ones when possible, as that mitigates some of the shipping problems and delays. However, this can also drive up prices.

The state of the retail market in Canada looks to be strong in 2022, although a great deal of uncertainty may come into play. Wise investors like Nicholas Kyriacopoulos lean on the strength of the market while also hedging against potential surprises.