Metropolitan Vancouver is the major trading area in British Columbia, and accounts for almost one-half of total provincial retail sales. The second-largest market area is Greater Victoria; the Kelowna, Kamloops and Nanaimo areas are also major retailing centres.

Retail Trade - 2009
Trade Group	$Millions	%
Supermarkets	10,175	19.0
New car dealers	7,709	14.4
Gasoline stations	5,691	10.6
Beer, wine & liquor stores	3,363	6.3
Pharmacies & personal care stores	2,990	5.6
Home centres & hardware stores	2,683	5.0
Clothing stores	2,401	4.5
Home electronics and appliance stores	2,099	3.9
Used & recreational motor vehicle & parts dealer	1,870	3.5
Sporting goods, hobby, music & book stores	1,810	3.4
Miscellaneous store retailers	1,616	3.0
Furniture stores	1,086	2.0
Home furnishings stores	924	1.7
Convenience & specialty food stores	944	1.8
Specialized building materials & garden stores	918	1.7
Shoe, clothing accessories & jewellery stores	730	1.4
Computer & software stores	221	0.4
Total, all Trade Groups	53,675
Total, excl new, used & recreational motor vehicles	44,096
Source: Statistics Canada