Department stores see large drop in sales during July

The volume and value of retail sales increased by 5.9% and 8.6% compared to July last year. 

The volume of sales in department stores during July dropped nearly 12% compared to last year as people look to buy more cars, fuel, and furniture, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

The figures show that across all retail sales, the volume and value has increased by 5.9% and 8.6% respectively compared to July 2022. Compared to June, the volume actually decreased by 0.8% while the value decreased by 0.3%.

According to the data, if car sales were not included, the total volume of retail sales dropped 4% compared to June and only increased by 0.3% compared to July last year.

Overall department stores saw sales volumes drop 11.7% — the largest drop of any category. Department stores are categorised as selling a large variety of goods but not predominately food products, beverages or tobacco. 

Specialty food, drinks and tobacco stores saw sale volumes drop 8.7%, while electrical goods stores saw a decrease of 4.5%. The volume of sales in bars also dropped 2.7% compared to last year while sales in supermarkets dropped 1.7%.

Volume of Retail Sales down 0.8% in July 2023https://t.co/GcXj10ihs9#CSOIreland #Ireland #RetailSales #Services #Retail #Business #BusinessStatistics #IrishBusiness pic.twitter.com/hHMVbH8D4L

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) August 28, 2023

Stephanie Kelleher, statistician with the CSO, said in annual terms, five sectors saw growth in the volume of sales. These include “Other Retail Sales” which were up 30.3%, car sales up 15%, fuel up 6.3%, furniture and lighting up 5.2%, and books, newspapers and stationery up 4.5%.

“Other Retail Sales” includes items such as carpets, music and video recordings, games and toys, among other items.

When July’s retail figures are compared to June, bars had the biggest drop in volume sales with a decrease of 5.5% while specialty food, drink, and tobacco stores saw a decrease of 4.3%. Supermarkets saw a drop of 3.5%.

The proportion of retail sales transacted online from Irish-registered companies was 4.7% in July 2023 compared with 5.8% in June 2023, and 4.8% in July 2022.