The volume of retail sales fell by 1.9 per cent in June to bring the annual rate of growth for the first six months of the year to 6.5 per cent.
New data from the Central Statistics Office said the value of retail sales, which measures prices, decreased by 1.7 per cent in the month down to 7.3 per cent for the first half of the year.
The CSO said excluding car sales, the monthly value of retail sales decreased 2.9 per cent, and that there was an annual increase of 5.7 per cent in the value of retail sales.