Volume of retail sales down 1.3% in June amid rising inflation

Cate McCurry, PA

The volume of retail sales was down 1.3 per cent in June compared to the previous month, and fell by 6.6 per cent over the last year, new figures show.

The data, released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), shows the largest monthly decrease was in electrical goods (down 13.5 per cent) followed by hardware, paint and glass (11 per cent).

Sales of clothing and footwear dropped by 6.3 per cent.

The largest increase in sales was in furniture and lighting, at a rise of 25.9 per cent compared to the previous month.

Sales at department stores grew by 19 per cent, while books, newspapers and stationery sales increased 10 per cent.

Bar sales jumped by 54 per cent compared to June last year, while pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles were also the only sectors that showed an annual volume increase.

Volume of Retail Sales down 1.3% in June 2022https://t.co/jqdyecGNT2 #CSOIreland #Ireland #RetailSales #Services #Retail #Business #BusinessStatistics #IrishBusiness pic.twitter.com/DIIzRM1tX6

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) July 28, 2022

However, the CSO said comparisons in bar sales with the previous year started at a low base when Covid-19 restrictions still applied.

The volume of retail sales excluding motor trades fell by 2.1 per cent in the month and dropped by 6.4 per cent in the year when compared with June 2021.

The volume of retail sales in June this year was 2.4 per cent higher than pre-Covid-19 levels in February 2020.

The proportion of retail sales transacted online – from Irish registered companies – was 4.9 per cent in June compared with 5.7 per cent in May, 4.9 per cent in June 2021 and 6.7 per cent in June 2020.

The value of retail sales in the fuel sector rose by 28.5 per cent in the year to June 2022, while the volume fell by 6.9 per cent over the same period, reflecting higher prices compared with the previous year.

Two sectors showed an annual increase in the volume of sales compared with June 2021.

While bar sales largely recovered over the previous year, bar sales remained 24 per cent lower than the pre-Covid-19 level in February 2020.

Pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles also showed an annual increase of 6.6 per cent.

The sectors which showed the largest annual reductions in volume were other retail sales at almost 30 per cent, food, beverages and tobacco at 14.6 per cent and motor trades at 14.5 per cent.

Compared with February 2020, the volume of all retail sales in June 2022 was 2.4 per cent higher.

The highest increases were seen in pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles at 25 per cent, clothing and footwear, hardware, paints and glass grew by 16.2 per cent, and department stores by 13.6 per cent.

The largest decreases in the volume of sales in June 2022 when compared with February 2020 levels were bars, books, newspapers and stationery and fuel.

The value of retail sales was 0.3 per cent lower in June 2022 than in May 2022 and was 0.9 per cent lower than June 2021.