Boom brewing as retail sales on the rise
It might not be the heady days of the Celtic Tiger, but latest figures from Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) show the retail sector has experienced the largest growth since 2007.
In the third quarter of this year, sales across 4,000 stores topped €3.3bn — some 5.5% more than in the same period in 2014.
In one of the key signs Irish people have returned to the high streets and are on the spend, sales of teas and coffees have risen by 13%.
Chief executive of REI, David Fitzsimons, said hot beverages sales had always been a good barometer of how the wider retail sector was faring. “It’s indicative of the fact that we are a nation of coffee and tea lovers.
“But, more importantly, it means we are out, we are active, footfall is up, we are travelling the highways and byways so as consumers we are not stuck in our homes anymore. We are out on the high street so it’s a really good indicator of national activity,” he told RTÉ.
Mr Fitzsimons also pointed out sales of menswear rose by over 12% — a higher percentage jump than sales of womenswear — and hailed the influence of UFC star Conor McGregor in relation to sales.
“Again, its indicative of young people back to work and buying suits. People going out at the weekends and dressing in style.
“But we are also talking of the likes of Louis Copeland, Patrick Burke in Ennis, and Eddie Donnellan in Roscommon and they are all saying that the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor has influenced a generation to become far more stylish,” he said.
Sharon Jordan, country manager with The Travel Corporation Ireland, pointed out cruise bookings are surging with more and more people looking to travel to exotic destinations.
“Uniworld River Cruises are seeing strong forward bookings for 2016 with bookings up almost 35%, with more guests opting for higher standard stateroom categories this year than ever before.
“Far-flung designations such as India and Egypt are back on the horizon for Irish guests and traditional river cruise routes such as the Danube and Rhine are selling out fast on the key travel dates,” she said.
Ms Jordan also pointed out that consumers are also spending more on ‘bucket list’ holidays
“Across all our holidays we are seeing growth with Irish customers spending more now than in the past few years, particularly for bucket list holidays such as tours of South America with Insight Vacations.
“Ashford Castle has seen higher occupancy this year since joining the Red Carnation Hotel Collection.”
