New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the volume of retail sales increased 4.3% in September when compared to August on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Retail sales rose by 4.2% on an annual basis in September, the CSO said.
When volatile car sales are excluded, the CSO said the volume of retail sales increased by 2.3% in September and rose by 4.7% on an annual basis.
The sectors with the largest monthly increases were hardware, paints and glass with sales up 8.8%, while car sales rose by 8.4%.
The CSO said the sectors with the largest monthly volume decreases included department stores where sales fell by 2.2%, while clothing, footwear and textiles dropped by 2.2%.
Today's figures also show an increase of 3.8% in the value of retail sales in September on a monthly basis, while they showed an annual increase of 2.8%.
