New figures from the Central Statistics Office show there was no change in the volume of monthly retail sales in October, while there was an annual increase of 4.5%.
The CSO said that if car sales are excluded, retail sales were down 0.3% in October compared with September, while there was an increase of 6% in the annual figure.
New car sales have fallen this year as some motorists have preferred to import cars from Britain due to the sharp fall in the value of sterling against the euro.
Today's figures show that the sectors with the largest monthly volume increases were pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles, with sales of these items up by 7.3%.
Fuel sales increased by 1.3%, while clothing, footwear and textiles sales rose by 1.3%.
Meanwhile, the largest month on month volume decreases were seen in the books, newspapers and stationery sector, with sales falling 2.5%.
Sales of electrical goods were down 2.1%, while other retail sales - including the likes of carpets, toys, flowers, plants, pets animals and pet food - were down 2.1%.
The CSO said the value of retail sales last month eased by 0.1%, while there was an annual increase of 2.5% compared to the same time last year.
Commenting on today's figures, Merrion economist Alan McQuaid said that retail sales remain erratic on a monthly basis and are still swinging back and forth. But he noted that the underlying trend is positive.
"While most attention has been on new car sales in the past couple of years, which will be lower in 2017 than 2016, personal spending in other areas has picked up over the same period and is becoming more broad-based," the economist added.
Mr McQuaid said said that taking all the factors into account, Merrion is now forecasting headline retail sales volume growth of around 3.5% in 2017.
