Retail sales rose in November as shoppers tried to beat VAT increase

RETAIL sales rose in November as consumers went on a mini-shopping spree in a bid to avoid dreaded increases to VAT in the run up to December’s budget.

Data released by the Central Statistics Office yesterday show the volume of retail sales, excluding price effects, increased by 1.6% in November when compared with October, but there was a year-on-year decrease of 0.8% on the previous November. In the first 11 months of 2011, sales were 1.4% lower on average than in the same period last year.

Unusually, if motor trades are excluded, the volume of retail sales increased by 1.8% in November when compared with October, while there was an annual decrease of 0.8%.