Department store sales fell by 12% last month

DEPARTMENT stores saw sales plunge 12% last month, despite massive discounting.

Figures from the CSO show the volume fell 3.8% in January from December but were up 4.6% compared with January last year.

Taking out car sales, which can record big swings, sales volumes rose 2.7% from December but are down 1.2% compared with a year earlier.