Retail sales in Ireland fell for the first time in four months in February, according to preliminary data released by the Central Statistics Office. Despite an increase of 2.0% in retail sales volume on a month-to-month basis in February, this was a significant downturn from the 2.0% gain recorded in January.
In terms of categories, the most significant monthly increase was seen in the sales of motor vehicles, despite an overall decrease of 9.0%. Department stores experienced a 7.1% drop in sales. The most substantial decrease in monthly volume was recorded in bar sales, with a reduction of 11.8%.
Annually, the growth of retail sales decelerated to 1.1% compared to the 5.3% increase seen in January. The value of sales dropped by 0.7% monthly, but experienced an overall annual surge of 3.0%.
