Retail sales saw an annual growth rate of 7% in June but were 3.4% lower on a monthly basis, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today.
Excluding volatile car sales, "core" retail sales volumes grew by 0.1% in June compared to the previous month to stand 4.6% higher on the year.
New car sales in Ireland have fallen over the last two years as some consumers opted to import cars from the UK due to a fall in the value of sterling following the Brexit referendum.
Today's figures were broadly in line with expectations, with consumers continuing to spend strongly on an annual basis despite bank deposits being at record-highs.
According to the CSO figures, the sector with the biggest monthly sales decrease was furniture and lighting with sales falling by 3.1%.
The "Other Retail Sales sector - which includes the likes of carpets, games and toys, flowers and plants, pet food and jewellery - were down 2.5%.
The sectors with the largest monthly increases were electrical goods, which rose by 2.1%, while sales in non-specialised stores such as supermarkets increased by 1.7%.
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 the underlying trend is positive.
Mr McQuaid said that even with the fluctuation in consumer sentiment, overall personal spending has been positive in the past couple of years, boosted by the increase in the numbers employed in the country.
"What happens on the currency and Brexit fronts will be important factors in determining the spending patterns of some consumers in the Republic over the next 12 to 18 months," the economist said.
"But we are still expecting to see healthy personal consumption in the Irish economy over the remainder of this year at least and probably in 2019 as well as things currently stand," he added.
