Retail sales continue to rise but bars and books still to match pre-pandemic levels

Bar sales in September surged compared with the same month last year but were over 20% below levels in September 2020, the figures show. File picture: Larry Cummins

Many retailers are tapping what appears to be a consumer spending spree despite sharply higher fuel costs, but bars and books are still struggling to match their pre-pandemic levels, new CSO figures suggest.

Sales of electrical goods, pharma, medical and cosmetics, as well as spending on the home, including stores selling hardware, paints and furniture and lighting were the standout areas with sales this September running significantly above their pre-pandemic levels in September 2019, the figures show.

The CSO said that the volume of all retail sales across 13 types of retail businesses last month were 12.6% ahead of the levels two years earlier, but that bars and books were among a group of three types of retailers where volume sales were still lower.

Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC Ireland, said the numbers suggest that consumers were still spending despite the sharp rise in fuel costs and that the recovery was uneven in parts. 

"There are retail businesses that are in recovery and some that are booming," he said.

Bar sales in September surged compared with the same month last year but were over 20% below levels in September 2020, the figures show. 

Sales of books, newspapers, and stationery also picked up significantly from September last year but were 8.3% below their pre-pandemic level of September 2019.

Fuel sales by volume were also up, by almost 7%, from September last year but were 3.4% below their September 2019 level.

Reflecting the huge price increases this year, fuel sales measured by value, or in money terms, climbed 19.8% from September 2020 and by over 4% from September 2019.

Economists have long predicted that the release of excess savings built by households whose incomes were not affected by the pandemic would help the economy recover.

The Department of Finance in its budget forecasts projected that modified domestic demand, a measure that more accurately reflects activity in the domestic economy, will climb 5.2% this year after slumping by almost 5% last year. In 2022, it projects the economy will expand 6.5%, also helped by consumer spending.

Compared with August, the CSO figures show less dramatic increases, with retail sales overall up 0.3% in the month.

In the month, bars, pharma, medical and cosmetic, books, newspapers and stationery, as well as electrical goods and hardware, and paints and glass showed significant increases.