Official figures show that the volume of retail sales in September was 10% below the same month last year, despite an increase compared with August.
The Central Statistics Office said the volume of sales was up 2.1% from August, but down 10% compared with the same month last year. The annual drop is broadly in line with the previous three months. Sales had been falling at a rate of more than 20% at the start of the year.
Sales in the motor sector moved up 4.5% in the month, but are still down more than 29% over a year. Sectors linked to the construction sector are still showing sharp falls in sales. Furniture and lighting sales are 12.7% lower over the year, while hardware, paints and glass sales are down 16.9%.
Bar sales fell another 1% in September, bringing the annual drop to 10%.
The value of sales, which takes prices into account, showed a monthly drop of 1.1% and an annual fall of 14.8%.
Monthly rise 'impressive' - economist
Goodbody economist Deirdre Ryan described the 2.1% monthly increase as 'impressive', and said an 11% annual decline in the third quarter of the year was a 'marked improvement' on the first two quarters. She said the evidence continue to suggest that consumer spending was stabilising.
Despite what he called 'healthy' monthly increases, Bloxham's Alan McQuaid said spending remained very weak, and the outlook for 2010 would depend on what measures were included in the Budget.
