We notice you are visiting from a U.S. Internet provider. 
19/02/2010 -
Canadian merchants likely saw a spike in their debit and credit card processing activity in December, as the country's retail sales rose by 0.4 percent to largely offset November's declines, Statistics Canada reported Friday.Retail sales in December hit $35.3 billion, continuing on the generally upward trend that has been seen since the beginning of 2009.
The largest gains were seen in the general merchandising sector, in which sales rose by 3.3 percent. In particular, clothing and accessories stores had a sales increase of 2.1 percent - shoe, clothing accessories and jewellery stores specifically saw sales increase by 5.2 percent.
In terms of regions, six provinces saw sales gains in December, the largest of which was seen in Alberta with a 1.8 percent gain. This represents the region's largest gain since November 2007. In addition, Quebec retailers reported gains of 0.7 percent following two months of stalling.
As sales continue on this upward trend and consumers begin to regain confidence - as well as buying power - businesses are encouraged to ensure that they include debit and credit card processing in their merchant services, to make the most of the uptick in spending.
