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.
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Business
Volume of retail sales dips in October
The largest monthly volume increase was recorded in Books, Newspapers and Stationery which grew by 5.2%