Retail recovery continues in Q2
New research by Retail Excellence Ireland shows hot beverages are on the rise, while garden centres were the standout performers of Q2
Print25 July 2014
The “hot beverage category”, comprising of coffee chains and garage forecourt hot drinks sales, rose by close to 8% in Q2 of this year, according to a new study by Retail Excellence Ireland (REI).
David Fitzsimons of REI said the category’s performance pointed to an improved labour market, as workers tend to drink more coffees on-the-go. “Hot beverages are a really good indicator of footfall,” he added.
Many segments of the retail industry – ladies fashion, footwear and garden centres – improved strongly in the second quarter of the year when compared to 2013, as shoppers were boosted by good weather in April. Overall, sales across the retail industry rose 1.96% between April and June compared to 2013.
REI’s quarterly sales review collates point-of-sale data from 4,500 retailers, whose till systems are linked directly to the market researcher, GfK.
The study found that while sales on average grew by 4.58% in April –helped this year by the timing of the Easter holidays – growth was less than 1% in May and sales fell 0.3% in June. REI partly attributed this to “the increase in families holidaying abroad”.
Garden centres were the star performers meanwhile. Sales in April jumped up by almost 50% as people decided to carry out home improvements in the good weather. Growth slowed heavily over the next two months, but still averaged more than 12% for the quarter.
Grocery sales remained flat, while pharmacy sales dropped by nearly 5%, mostly due to reductions in State prescription payments.
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