The Central Statistics Office said today that the volume of retail sales fell by 1.9% in June, following a 1.7% increase the previous month.
This meant there was an annual rate of growth of 6.5% in June, down from 10.1% in May.
The value of retail sales, which takes prices into account, was down 1.7% in the month and was up 7.3% over the year.
The CSO said if car sales are excluded there was a monthly decrease of 2.9% and an annual increase of 5.7% in the value of retail sales.
Sales in the hardware, paints and glass sector slumped by 13% compared with May, while department stores sales fell by almost 5%. Bar sales were 2% lower.
Goodbody economist Dermot O'Leary said the weather seemed to play a big role in the 13% monthly drop in hardware, paints and glass. But he pointed to impressive growth in the second quarter of this year, with sales volumes up 7.8% compared with Q2 last year. This is the fastest rate since the third quarter of 2000.
