A report from American Express Canada found 85% of retails consider their financial outlook to be positive for the next 12 months. Apparel retailers top the list with 95% expecting a good year, followed by fast food at 94% and gas at 85%.

Nearly two-thirds of retailers -- 64% -- said they are not worried about the state of their business over the next 12 months.

Only drug stores and pharmacies had concerns, with 44% of those answering the survey saying they have a negative outlook for their industry.

"Retail - in all its forms - is often portrayed to be in crisis. What we're seeing in this report is merchants are more optimistic than anyone might have imagined," Colin Temple, vice president and general manager of merchant services for American Express Canada, said in a release Monday.

Retails say an increase in new customers and new products will help them see black more than they see red.

The survey sampled 375 Canadian businesses from the drug store/pharmacy, gas, grocery, restaurant, fast food, apparel, and general retail sectors. The margin of error for the total sample is 5.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.