OTTAWA: Canada Airport duty free sales in Canada surged by +39% year-on-years to reach C$35 million (US$29.1 million) in March 2015, while land border duty free sales fell -0.3% to C$8.6 million (US$7.2 million).
For the period January–March, airport duty free sales hit C$90 million (US$74.8 million), up +21%; land border duty free sales grew by +1.87% to C$22.9 million (US$19 million) in the same period.
The figures were provided by the Canadian Border Services Agency and released by the Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA).
The regional land border sales figures break down as follows:
Prairie region: March sales fell by -8.0% to C$651,000 (US$541,200), while sales in the January– March period declined by -4.0% to C$1.89 million (US$1.57 million).
Pacific region: The region recorded C$1.6 million (US$1.3 million) in sales for March, down -7.9% on the previous year. In the January–March period, sales totalled C$4.3 million (US$3.6 million), up +0.87%.
Ontario: Sales in Ontario in March hit C$4.9 million (US$4.1 million), up +2.44%. In the January–March period, sales rose by +3.0% to reach C$12.9 million (US$10.7 million).
Atlantic/Quebec: The region had sales of C$1.4 million (US$1.2 million) in March (+1.59% year-on-year) and C$3.7 million (US$3.1 million) in the January–March period (+2.71%).
The main categories that dominated sales in land border duty free in March 2015 were as follows (in order of sales highest to lowest):
- Alcohol (liquor, liqueur, wine, coolers)
- Tobacco, Cigars, Loose Tobacco
- Perfume, Cosmetics, Skincare
- Food
- Beer (beer, malt-based coolers)
- Jewellery, Watches, Clocks
- Accessories (purses, wallets, sunglasses, etc.)
- Clothing (including hats, fur, leather)
- Souvenirs
- Office and Travel Supplies
- Glassware, crystal, china, figurines, porcelain
- Other
- Crafts/Arts
- Electronics, Cameras, Binoculars, etc.
