The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office says the volume of retail sales increased by 5% in September compared to the same time last year. There was a monthly decrease of 0.5%.
The CSO says that if motor trades are excluded, the annual increase was 6% and the monthly change was an increase of 1.2%.
The figures show that the value of retail sales grew by 7.2% in September 2005 compared to September 2004 and increased by 0.6% in the month. However, if motor trades are excluded, the annual increase was 6.8% and the monthly change was a rise of 1.5%.
The CSO says that for the three months from June to August, the largest increase in the volume of sales was in the Department Stores, with sales up 6.4% in that sector. The largest decrease in the volume of sales was in the motor trade, which saw a fall of 5.1%.
Commenting on today's CSO figures, Bloxham's Alan McQuaid says that consumer spending growth has picked up somewhat this year.
He says that disposable income growth in the economy has been supported by large employment gains and significant real wage increases.
However, he says that consumer sentiment has been erratic in recent months, with high energy costs, job losses in manufacturing, and the probability of higher interest rates all weighing on confidence.
'We are now forecasting a real increase in personal expenditure on goods and services of 5% for 2005 as a whole, though the risks are to the downside rather than the upside at this stage,' the economist says.
He predicts that 2006 will see some some further pick-up in spending growth. He believes that disposable income growth should remain strong, although the increase in employment is likely to be lower than the expected huge rise for this year.
