Sales up but little joy for retailers

Sales of hot beverage and home/giftware products helped drive a marginal boost in retail sales during the final quarter of 2012 but little, if any, relief was felt by shop owners.

New data from industry representative Retail Excellence Ireland shows that overall retail sales grew by 0.21% on a year-on-year basis, during the final three months of last year.

While the festive period had a natural positive effect, the budget announced in early December balanced that out, while many stores choosing to discount goods proved to be something of a double-edged sword.