Bad weather causes 38% drop in retail sales

The spell of bad weather afflicting the country has resulted in a 38% drop in retail sales, according to a survey by Retail Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the Irish retail sector.

"The impact of the bad weather was particularly severe on non-food retailers, and the New Year sales were hugely disrupted," Retail Ireland Director Torlach Denihan said.

"Some 84% of survey respondents reported that their customers experienced major difficulties in getting to the shops. This translated into an average 38% decline in sales since 1 January due to the bad weather, with non-food sales being affected even more.

"It is likely that some of this business will be clawed back, particularly if we get some mild weather, but up to €90m in sales will never be recouped.

"This setback comes immediately after a very poor year when retail sales fell continuously and 30,000 retail jobs were lost," Mr Denihan added.

The group called for Government action to protect jobs in the retail sector.