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 | 0
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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