Retail sales down almost 5% in August
The volume of retail sales in Ireland dropped by 4.7% last August compared to the previous month.
If Motor Trades are excluded, there was an increase of 0.9% in the volume of retail sales last month compared with July, according to the latest Seasonally Adjusted Retail Sales Index from the Central Statistics Office.
The sectors with the largest month-on-month volume decreases were Motor Trades (-11.1%), Bars, (-2.7%) and Department Stores (-1.1%).
The sectors with the largest monthly increases were Furniture and Lighting (+8.8%), Other Retail Sales (+5.1%) and Hardware, Paints & Glass (+4.6%).
There was a decrease of 3.7% in the value of retail sales in August 2016 when compared with July 2016 and there was an annual increase of 2.9% when compared with August 2015.
If Motor Trades are excluded, there was no change in the value of retail sales and an annual increase of 1.8%.
