Consumers opting for Irish-owned businesses for their online shopping, say Retail Ireland

Retail Ireland says Irish retailers who have invested in their online stores are seeing a real return on that investment this Christmas.

Director, Thomas Burke, says the trend of buying online is very strong and Irish retailers need to compete in that space:

"I think the one real positive this Christmas those retailers that have invested in their online store have seen real return on that investment over the last couple of weeks with many of our members seeing very significant double-digit increases in trade in their online platforms over the last couple of weeks when compared to last year.

"I think Irish consumers are now starting to realise that Irish retailers have a compelling offer in that space and are increasingly starting to choose them first over international competitors.

"That's to be welcomed," he added.