Retail sales rose by a modest 0.5 per cent in September as Irish consumers spent more on cars, electrical goods and in bars. Excluding car sales, the monthly volume of retail sales was up by 0.7 per cent in September, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
It comes as separate provisional CSO data points to the economy as a whole contracting by 3.3 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP) terms in the first nine months of the year.
Easing inflation, a robust labour market and a recovery in real incomes are expected to support retail sales in the coming months.
The CSO said the sectors with the highest monthly volume increases were electrical goods (+6.1 per cent); books, newspapers and stationery (+4.6 per cent); furniture and lighting (+1.9 per cent); and hardware, paints and glass (+1.9 per cent).
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Monthly volume decreases were recorded in pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles (-2.6 per cent); food, beverages and tobacco (-1.1 per cent), and non-specialised stores (including supermarkets) (-0.1 per cent).
While the annual figures showed the volume of sales were marginally up by 0.2 per cent, there were pronounced declines in bars (-7.4 per cent); food, beverages and tobacco (-6.5 per cent); and motor trades (-3.5 per cent).
The proportion of retail sales transacted online (from Irish registered companies) was 5.2 per cent in September.
The downturn in the GDP figures is being linked to statistical distortions in the multinational sector associated with “contract manufacturing”, where goods produced in other countries have their profits counted in Irish GDP.
The numbers indicate the economy here grew by 2 per cent in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter but GDP is estimated to have fallen 1.2 per cent when compared with the same quarter in 2023.
Most forecasters expect the Irish economy to grow by approximately 2 per cent this year in terms of modified domestic demand (MDD), a more accurate measure of the domestic economy.
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