Retail sales fell back slightly in August after a sharp rise in July, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office, but they remain well ahead of the same period last year. The figures show that the value of sales fell 2.2 per cent in August from the previous month, but remained 9.9 per cent up on August 1997. The volume of retail sales after adjusting for inflation was 8 per cent higher than a year earlier.