Official figures show that the volume of retail sales fell in July, for the first time since January, despite a jump in spending in bars as indoor hospitality reopened.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that the volume of sales dropped by 1.7% from June. July sales were still 5.2% higher than in the same month last year.

The volume of bar sales rose by 18.6% in July, while electrical goods sales were up almost 6%.

Sales fell in a number of other key areas, however, with department stores showing a 17% drop, and the furniture-and-lighting category down almost 9%.

Sales higher than pre-COVID

The CSO said that this year’s July figures were 14% higher than those for July 2019, before the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. Most sectors showed increases – the biggest coming in the motor, food and electrical-goods categories.

Sales in four areas were lower, however, compared with two years earlier. Bar sales were down almost 40%, while sales of books, newspapers and stationery dropped by more than 30%. Fuel sales and sales in department stores were also lower than in July 2019.

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Central Bank show that spending in August so far is 14% higher compared with the same period last year. The bank’s numbers – which measure activity on credit and debit cards – cover the period to 23 August.

Spending in the week to 22 August was marginally lower than in the previous week, though there was an increase in spending in restaurants.