Official figures show that retail sales bounced back in March following a sharp fall in February.
The Central Statistics Office said the volume of sales rose by 1% in the month, following a 2.5% drop in February.
The annual rate of growth was 7.2%.
The monthly increase was attributed to a 2% rise in motor trade sales. While food, drink and tobacco sales fell by 5.4% and bar sales dropped by 6.3%.
