Value of retail sales up, but volumes flat

According to the CSO, in February, the volume of retail sales increased by just 0.8% compared to February last year.

The value of retail sales in Ireland increased by over 2.1% in the year to February as the volume of sales was largely flat, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

This comes as inflation in the country continues to run at 2.7%. However, this is expected to increase in the coming months with spikes in oil and gas prices expected to hit consumers following the war in the Middle East.

Some economic institutions and banks have already forecasted inflation to potentially reach as high as 4% in the coming months. 

The impact of the oil price shock has already been seen at the petrol pumps but the increasing cost of gas will take a bit of time before they begin to show up in consumers electricity prices.

Should the war continue for a longer period of time, price increases will be seen everyday retail items as businesses pass on the additional cost.

According to the CSO, in February, the volume of retail sales decreased by 0.8% compared to January but increased by 0.8% compared to February last year.

If you exclude the motor trade, retail sales were up by 0.3% on the month and by 0.2% on the year. However, while there has been little increase in the volume of sales, the value of those sales are up more significantly.

Month-on-month sales volumes were up 0.6% and up 2.1% year-on-year.

Value represents turnover or total expenditure whereas volume strips out the impact of price changes to reflect quantity sold.

The sectors which saw the highest annual volume growth recorded included books, newspapers, and stationery, 5.2%, hardware, paints, and glass up 2.8% and the motor trade, up 1.9%.

The largest monthly volume increases was recorded in pharmaceuticals, medical, and cosmetic articles which was up 6.4%.

Sectors which saw declines compared to February last year included furniture and lighting, down 3.3%, clothing and footwear, down 2.5%, and food and drink in specialised stores, down 2.2%.

The largest month-on-month decrease was seen in clothing and footwear, down 4.4%.