Retail sales stagnate in Ireland during December, CSO says

(Alliance News) - Retail sales in Ireland were largely unchanged over December, according to the country's Central Statistics Office on Friday.

On a monthly basis, retail sales were unchanged from November, slowing from a 0.5% monthly rise in November.

Excluding motor sales, monthly retail sales fell 1.8% in December, the CSO noted.

Motor sales helped to offset a 17% decline in Clothing Footwear & Textiles, a 7.7% fall in Electrical Goods and a 5.7% drop in Furniture & Lighting.

On an annual basis, sales were up just 0.5% in December, slowing rapidly from an 8.3% rise in November.

Bars rose 55%, when compared to the previous December which was hit by the Omicron Covid variant. However, they still lagged pre-Covid-19 levels of February 2020 by 13%.

By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter

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