Retail sales up 8.1% in October compared to last year

The volume of retail sales were 8.1 per cent higher in October compared with the same month last year, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

However, the figures also show retail sales decreased by 0.7 per cent in the month when compared with September.

When motor trades are excluded the volume of retail sales decreased by 0.2 per cent in October over the previous month and increased by 9 per cent when compared with October 2019.

The largest monthly volume increases were in other retail sales (10 per cent), food, beverages and tobacco (7.1 per cent), books, newspapers and stationery (5.6 per cent), non-specialised stores including supermarkets (4.3 per cent) and electrical goods (3.2 per cent).

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The monthly volume of sales fell in bars (-51.8 per cent), fuel (-17.8 per cent), pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles (-7.6 per cent), clothing, footwear and textiles (-7.5 per cent).

It also fell in motor trades (-6.6 per cent), department stores (-4.2 per cent), furniture and lighting (-4.1 per cent) and hardware, paints and glass (-1.9 per cent).

The figures show that retail sales in October were 10.6 per cent higher than in February before the crisis started. However, not every sector has fully recovered.

Bars (-75.3 per cent), fuel (-20.5 per cent), books, newspapers and stationery (-9.9 per cent), clothing, footwear and textiles (-4.1 per cent) and department stores (-2.8 per cent) are still below their February level.

All other sectors now have sales greater than they had in February 2020.

Compared with October 2019, the volume of retail sales is still lower in bars (-75.2 per cent), fuel (-21.3 per cent), books, newspapers and stationery (-13.6 per cent), clothing, footwear and textiles (-7.1 per cent) and department stores (-3.2 per cent).

Volume

The volume of retail sales was higher in October compared to the same period of last year in other retail sales (41.2 per cent), hardware, paint and glass (34.1 per cent), electrical goods (33.5 per cent), and food, beverages and tobacco (23.2 per cent).

It was also higher in furniture and lighting (18.7 per cent), non-specialised stores including supermarkets) (15.2 per cent), pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles (7.1 per cent) and motor trades (6 per cent).

The proportion of retail sales transacted online (from Irish registered companies) increased to 6.1 per cent in October from 4.5 per cent in September. This is below the high of 15.3 per cent recorded in April at the height of the first lockdown.

The value of retail sales was 3.2 per cent lower in October than in September. The annual change in the value of retail sales was an increase of 4.2 per cent. Excluding motor trades, the value of retail sales decreased by 1.3 per cent in the month and grew by 3.1 per cent on an annual basis.