The volume of retail sales fell for the third consecutive month in July, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The CSO said the volume of sales was down 1.6% compared with June, and also dropped by 8.1% compared with a year earlier.

Reflecting higher prices, the value of retail sales recorded smaller falls – 0.1% lower compared with June, and down 0.4% from a year earlier.

The effect of inflation was seen most clearly in the fuel sector, where the volume of sales bought by consumers dropped by 7.5% in the year to July, but the value of those sales was up by more than 23%.

Motor sector drops

The motor sector can have a big influence on the overall figures, and sales in this category have fallen sharply over the past year. When this sector was stripped out, the annual decline in the volume of sales was lower, at 3.5%.

Bar sales in July were up 23% compared with June, but sales of books, newspapers and stationery dropped by 27%.

In the 12 months to July, only four sectors – bars, clothing and footwear, department stores, and furniture and lighting – recording increases in volume.

Bar sales jump

Bar sales jumped by almost 57% over the year, but the CSO pointed out that some COVID-19 restrictions were still in place in July last year.

The CSO figures also showed that the volume of retail sales in July was at the same level as in February 2020 – the last full month of sales before the pandemic hit.

Online activity accounted for 4.4% of total sales in July, compared with 5% in June 2022, and 4.8% in July 2021.