Irish monthly retail sales fall 12.7% on motor trade collapse

(C) Reuters.

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish retail sales fell 12.7% month-on-month in March to stand 11.1% lower year-on-year, according to data on Thursday that captured the gradual shut down of most traders last month to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

However when volatile motor sales were excluded from the data, the volume of retail sales decreased by just 1.9% month-on-month and were 0.6% lower on an annual basis, the Central Statistics Office said.

That was due to a 30.7% month-on-month drop in the sale of vehicles and while bar sales fell 53.1% and clothing, footwear & textiles were 49.2% lower, supermarket sales were 14% higher, electrical goods rose by 5.9% and pharmaceuticals and cosmetic sales were up 8.8%.