Retail sales fell by 3.1% in September

The volume of retail sales fell by 3.1% in September and decreased by 7% overall compared with the same period last year.

Figures from the Central Statistic Office (CSO) show two sectors – bars and pharmaceuticals – were the only ones to show an annual increase in the volume of sales last month.

Bar sales rose by 7.5% on an annual basis while pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles jumped by 1.4%.

The figures also show that despite this recovery over the previous year, bar sales remained 16% lower than the pre-Covid-19 level in February 2020.

The figures also show that largest monthly volume decreases were in food, beverages and tobacco at a drop of 7.2%, followed by clothing, footwear and textiles at 5.1%, while department store sales dropped by 4.2% in September.

The largest monthly volume increases were in books, newspapers and stationery at an increase of 5.3%; furniture and lighting at a rise of 2.5%, and hardware, paints and glass at 2.2%.

The sectors which showed the largest annual decrease in sales included ‘other retail sales’, which dropped by 23.7%.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco fell over the past year by 13.3%, car sales fell by 8.3%, while clothing, footwear and textiles dropped by 7.5%.

The proportion of retail sales transacted online, from Irish registered companies, rose marginally to 5.3% in September 2022 from 4.8% in August 2022, 4.6% in September 2021, and 4.5% in September 2020.

The value of retail sales in the fuel sector rose by 17.6% in the year to September, while the corresponding volume fell by 3.9% over the same period, reflecting higher prices compared with the previous year.

Meanwhile, the amount spent using credit and debit cards dropped by 7% last month compared with August.

Figures published by the Central Bank of Ireland on Friday show that all sectors experienced reductions in spending last month, with few exceptions.

It said that, most notably, education saw an increase of 67% in comparison with August.

The volume card transactions was 10% lower last month compared with August.

Total in-store spending amounted to 3.7 billion euro in September, representing a decrease of 12% compared with the previous month and a 9% or 312 million euro year-on-year increase.

The proportion of total spending carried out in-store was 52%.

Total online expenditure decreased by 1%, to 3.4 billion euro, compared with the previous month and saw an increase of 16% when compared with September 2021.