Retail sales show monthly slump of 1.9%
CSO figures report March showed sharpest annualised fall in nine months
Print26 April 2013
New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the volume of retail sales fell by 1.9% in March from February. The CSO said retail sales were down 3.6% last month compared to the same period the previous year – the sharpest annualised fall in nine months. When car sales are excluded from the figures, retail sales fell by 1.8% on a monthly basis and by 1.6% on an annual basis.
Breaking down the figures, they show that the biggest fall in retail sales was seen in the books, newspapers and stationery sector, which dropped by 8.5% last month. March saw sales increase in department stores, which rose 2.3%, while sales in food, beverages and tobacco-specialised stores grew by 1.6%.
The CSO also said today that the value of retail sales fell by 1.9% in March on a monthly basis and by 4.1% on an annual basis. When car sales are excluded, there was a monthly decrease of 1.8% in the value of retail sales and an annual fall of 1.7%.
Retail Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the retail sector, described today’s figures as ”shockingly poor”. "Every category of store recorded a fall, except department stores, specialist food stores and electrical outlets. Hardware, clothing and book sales fared particularly badly. Supermarkets, pharmacies and petrol retailers also all saw a drop in sales,”’ commented director Stephen Lynam.
Mark Fielding of ISME, which represents small and medium-sized businesses, said: "The tsunami of negative influences on the retail trade continues, with increases in bank charges and reduction in bank lending, increases in local charges with a reduction in local services, while government’s empty announcements mirror the empty shops."
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