The volume of retail sales decreased by 8.1% in the year to July 2022, research shows.
According to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the largest monthly volume decreases were in books, newspapers & stationery, which fell by 27.2%, pharmaceuticals, medical & cosmetic articles, by 6.8%, other retail sales, by 5.5%, and department stores, by 3.9%.
Commenting on the data, Stephanie Kelleher, statistician in the CSO’s Business Statistics Division, said, “Retail sales fell by 1.6% in July 2022, when compared with June 2022 on a seasonally adjusted basis.”
Retail Sales
The volume of retail sales (excluding motor trades) fell by 1.6% in the month and dropped by 3.5% in the year, when compared to July 2021.
The CSO noted that the volume of retail sales in July 2022 was at the same level as February 2020 (pre-Covid).
The proportion of retail sales transacted online (from Irish registered companies) was 4.4% in July 2022, compared to 5.0% in June 2022, 4.8% in July 2021, and 4.6% in July 2020, however, the value of retail sales in the fuel sector rose by 23.1% in the year to July 2022.
Pre-Covid Comparisons
Compared to February 2020 (29 months earlier, and pre-Covid), the volume of all retail sales in July 2022 was unchanged, the data indicated.
Value of Retail Sales
The value of retail sales was 0.1% lower in July 2022 than in June 2022, and 0.4% lower than a year earlier.
Excluding motor trades, the value of retail sales decreased by 1.7% in the month and increased by 5.7% on an annual basis.
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
