Many retailers still discounting to encourage shoppers to spend
According to Retail Ireland, the retail sector remains fragile and the rate of recovery is running behind that of the general economy
Print27 March 2015
Retail Ireland, the Ibec group that represents the retail sector, said today’s (27 March) CSO retail sales statistics for February show the continuing fragility of the retail sector.
While retail sales volumes (excluding car sales and bars) continue to experience strong growth, increasing 0.8% in the month and 5.3% in the year, retail sales values are still 20% below peak.
In February sales values increased by 0.6% (excluding car sales and bars) and by only 0.9% in the year.
Director of Retail Ireland Thomas Burke said: “While there has been an improvement in the performance of the retail sector in recent months, today’s numbers show that the sector remains fragile and rate of recovery is running behind that of the general economy.The disparity between increases in sales volumes and sales values is a clear indication that heavy discounting remains a significant feature of the Irish retail landscape. Although consumer confidence is growing, many shoppers will go out of their way to find a good bargain, which means consumer spending is lower than expected.”
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