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Irish retail sales volumes increased in April, driven by gains in department stores and specialised food retailers, though core activity excluding motor trades dipped slightly, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed on Wednesday. The volume of retail sales rose by 1.1% in April from the previous month, following a 0.9% decline in March. On an annual basis, sales volumes were 3.0% higher, compared with a 1.3% year-on-year drop the month before. However, when excluding motor trades, the volume of retail sales slipped by 0.1% in April, following no change in March. Annual growth also eased, rising by 1.1% in April compared with 1.4% in March. Among the sectors seeing monthly volume gains were department stores, up 6.4%, books, newspapers and stationery, up 2.0%, and furniture and lighting, which rose 1.5%. Specialised food, beverage and tobacco stores added 1.3%, while bar sales edged up 0.3%. By contrast, sales fell in clothing, footwear and textiles by 1.4%, electrical goods by 1.1%, and other retail by 1.1%. On an annual basis, the strongest volume increases were in hardware, paints and glass, up 7.7%, followed by furniture and lighting, up 6.7%, and specialised food and drink retailers, up 6.5%. Pharmaceuticals and stationery also saw moderate annual gains. The steepest annual falls were in department stores, down 5.6%, bars, down 4.7%, and electrical goods, down 3.9%. Online sales accounted for 5.0% of total retail turnover in April, slightly up from 4.8% in March but below the 5.6% level in April 2024. Excluding motor trades, the proportion of online sales was 6.8% in April. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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