Volume of retail sales dips in October
JR8BGX Second hand paperback books on shelves in a shop in Chapel St Leonards, Lincolnshire
The volume of retail sales declined marginally last month, falling by 0.1% in October, but continues to grow on an annual basis.
New figures released by the CSO on Thursday showed that the volume of retail sales was up by 9% in the 12 months to October 2024.
Excluding motor trades, the monthly volume of Retail Sales was down by 0.2% last month but rose by 0.9% in the year when compared to October 2023.
The value of Retail Sales fell by 0.1% in the month and rose by 0.1% in the 12 months to October 2024.
Sectors showing the highest monthly volume decreases were Electrical Goods, down 1.4%, Furniture and Lighting, which fell by 1.1%, Motor Trades, down 0.9% and Department Stores, which dropped by 0.8%.
The largest monthly volume increases were recorded in Books, Newspapers and Stationery, up 5.2%, Other Retail Sales, which grew by 2.2%, and Fuel up 1.9%.
Sectors showing the highest annual volume growth in October 2024 were Books, Newspapers and Stationery, which grew by more than 17% overall, Clothing, Footwear and Textiles, up 11%, Other Retail Sales, up 7.2%, and Department Stores which increased by 5.5%.
Annual volume declines were recorded in Bars, down 7.4%, Electrical Goods down 5.0%, Non-Specialised Stores including supermarkets, which fell by 3.2%, and Motor Trades, down 0.8%.
The proportion of Retail Sales transacted online from Irish registered companies was 4.8% in October 2024 compared with 5.1% in September 2024 and 5.1% in October 2023.
