Retail sales in Saskatchewan rose 1.1 per cent between July and August. That was third highest in the nation for the provinces. The national average was actually a decline of 0.1 per cent. Year-to-year, sales were another 1.1 per cent higher here. That also happened to be on par with the national average. Despite that, Statistics Canada says seven other provinces outperformed us, at least marginally. Total sales in Saskatchewan stood at about $1.6 billion dollars.