July 2026 was a strong month for Canadian retail, with total sales climbing 5.0% YOY, outpacing both Canada’s own growth trajectory in 2026 and US retail sales for the same month. However, when you strip out automotive, food, and pharmacy sales to isolate discretionary spending, that growth moderates to 3.4% YOY.

The FIFA World Cup, hosted in part across Canadian cities, played a meaningful role in shaping where dollars were spent, and just as importantly, where they were not. With both June and July 2026 data now in hand, JCWG has been able to take a more complete look at how the FIFA World Cup shaped retail performance across two of Canada’s host cities.

In Toronto, the picture is broadly positive but nuanced. Total retail sales for June and July combined grew 5.4% YOY, a healthy lift that reflects the city’s scale and its capacity to absorb and capitalize on large-scale tourism events.

Food and beverage categories were a natural focal point for our analysis, given that visitors and local watch-party hosts alike tend to drive spending in those areas during major sporting events. Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers are a case in point: after roughly one to two years of fairly consistent YOY declines, the category posted a 5.0% increase across June and July. That is a meaningful reversal and speaks to the volume of both visitors and locals stocking up for games.

Convenience Stores, on the other hand, continued their downward trend with a -4.7% decline YOY. This likely reflects a shift in where consumers chose to purchase last-minute items, but it may also be explained by a behavioral change during the tournament period. Many Toronto employers offered work-from-home arrangements on game days to manage the congestion on roads and transit. Workers who would otherwise stop at a Convenience Store on their commute simply had fewer reasons to do so.

The spatial dimension of the World Cup’s impact is equally interesting. Environics Analytics data, surfaced through a Globe and Mail article, showed that Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) closest to BMO Field and the Fan Fest saw the strongest visitation gain. Liberty Village, for example, experienced nearly 60% higher foot traffic on game days compared to 2025. But BIAs further from the activations told a different story. Little Portugal saw approximately a -3.0% decrease in traffic on game days, and a nearly -11% decline across the full World Cup period. The energy was real in Toronto, but it was highly localized.

Vancouver’s World Cup story stands in stark contrast to Toronto’s. Total retail sales for June and July 2026 actually declined 0.4% YOY in the city, a result that warrants some reflection. Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers were down approximately -1.0%, and Supermarkets posted a similar decline.

One plausible explanation is that Vancouver, as a significantly smaller city than Toronto, may have seen many Canadian and international fans choose to travel to Toronto instead,  drawn by the greater availability of hotel inventory and the more extensive regional transit network for moving around during the tournament.

The Environics Analytics visitation data reinforces the story of concentration. Only two areas posted double-digit growth on game days: Yaletown, up 63%, and Chinatown, up 26%. Both make intuitive sense, as Yaletown is the closest BIA to BC Place, and Chinatown/Stadium Station was one of the primary SkyTrain stops marketed by the tournament. Spending followed the path of least resistance and greatest proximity.

As we continue to analyze the World Cup’s retail footprint, a few questions are guiding our thinking:

• How did the FIFA Fan Fest at the PNE Grounds perform as a traffic driver, and did its distance from BC Place — and from SkyTrain — limit its ability to generate spillover retail spending in the surrounding East Village BIA?
• Did congestion concerns around the PNE deter visitors who may have otherwise attended, redistributing that energy elsewhere in the city or suppressing it altogether?
• What does the uneven geographic distribution of World Cup spending in both cities tell us about how future major events should think about activating retail corridors beyond the immediate stadium perimeter?
• How is YOUR strategy changing when preparing for major events near your business?

Reach out to the JCWG team for support with your retail strategy!

Retail Sales by Product Category, Same Month Comparison

Sales for the Month of July	Jul-26	Jul-25	YOY
All Stores	77,817,236	74,134,516	4.97%
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers	21,295,248	20,801,976	2.37%
Gasoline Stations	8,058,120	6,701,332	20.25%
All Stores Less Automotive	48,463,868	46,631,208	3.93%
Food and Beverage Stores	14,121,511	13,895,231	1.63%
Supermarkets and Other Grocery Stores*	9,816,041	9,617,590	2.06%
Convenience Stores	732,526	765,395	-4.29%
Specialty Food Stores	1,068,361	1,051,493	1.60%
Beer, Wine and Liquor Stores	2,504,583	2,460,753	1.78%
Health and Personal Care Stores	6,597,782	5,903,473	11.76%
All Stores Less Automotive, Food, and Pharmacies	27,744,575	26,832,504	3.40%
General Merchandise Stores	11,330,509	10,702,935	5.86%
Furniture, Home Furnishings, Electronic and Appliance Stores	3,338,209	3,479,704	-4.07%
Furniture Stores	1,269,016	1,290,187	-1.64%
Home Furnishings Stores	697,367	738,048	-5.51%
Electronics and Appliance Stores	1,371,826	1,451,469	-5.49%
Clothing and Accessories Stores	4,009,038	3,778,870	6.09%
Clothing Stores	3,125,184	2,963,336	5.46%
Shoe Stores	405,489	410,732	-1.28%
Jewellery, Luggage and Leather Goods Stores	478,365	404,802	18.17%
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book and Music Stores	4,411,189	4,196,329	5.12%
Building Material and Garden Equipment	4,655,630	4,674,667	-0.41%
Miscellaneous Store Retailers	3,032,253	2,854,600	6.22%
Cannabis Retailers	503,238	491,803	2.33%
Foodservices and Drinking Places	9,802,997	9,190,885	6.66%

Retail Sales by Store Category, Year to Date Comparison

Year-to-Date Sales Ending July	Jul-26	Jul-25	YTD
All Stores	500,926,825	480,560,431	4.24%
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers	137,771,415	135,993,886	1.31%
Gasoline Stations	49,765,641	43,476,476	14.47%
All Stores Less Automotive	313,389,769	301,090,069	4.09%
Food and Beverage Stores	91,805,403	90,655,356	1.27%
Supermarkets and Other Grocery Stores*	66,215,057	65,155,993	1.63%
Convenience Stores	4,650,234	4,738,280	-1.86%
Specialty Food Stores	6,794,718	6,596,681	3.00%
Beer, Wine and Liquor Stores	14,145,392	14,164,402	-0.13%
Health and Personal Care Stores	45,019,128	40,151,741	12.12%
All Stores Less Automotive, Food, and Pharmacies	176,565,238	170,282,972	3.69%
General Merchandise Stores	73,649,023	68,510,060	7.50%
Furniture, Home Furnishings, Electronic and Appliance Stores	21,958,477	23,393,823	-6.14%
Furniture Stores	7,946,159	8,176,113	-2.81%
Home Furnishings Stores	4,786,328	4,912,225	-2.56%
Electronics and Appliance Stores	9,225,987	10,305,485	-10.47%
Clothing and Accessories Stores	25,025,998	23,837,343	4.99%
Clothing Stores	19,527,849	18,572,544	5.14%
Shoe Stores	2,508,644	2,551,100	-1.66%
Jewellery, Luggage and Leather Goods Stores	2,989,504	2,713,702	10.16%
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book and Music Stores	28,631,698	26,756,534	7.01%
Building Material and Garden Equipment	27,300,044	27,785,211	-1.75%
Miscellaneous Store Retailers	19,556,528	18,094,240	8.08%
Cannabis Retailers	3,398,068	3,208,172	5.92%
Foodservices and Drinking Places	60,163,913	57,728,347	4.22%

Ecommerce Sales

	Jul-26	Jul-25
Ecommerce Sales, YTD	34,479,597	32,340,446	6.61%
Ecommerce Sales, YOY	5,084,789	4,757,926	6.87%

Regional Sales, Year to Date Comparison

Region	Year-to-Date, 2026	Year-to-Date, 2025	YTD
British Columbia	67,372,492	60,750,139	10.90%
Vancouver	33,493,330	33,646,402	-0.45%
Alberta	65,498,155	60,750,139	7.82%
Prairies*	32,523,213	31,550,944	3.08%
Ontario	189,310,503	181,592,297	4.25%
Toronto	85,445,191	82,434,586	3.65%
Québec	110,121,863	106,159,647	3.73%
Montréal	53,545,275	52,346,282	2.29%
Atlantic Canada	34,310,969	32,583,177	5.30%
Territories	1,789,628	1,714,017	4.41%

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