Retail sales volumes registered a second consecutive month of annual growth in July as pent-up demand for electrical goods and furniture helped make up for the lost sales in bars that remain closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Retail sales volumes increased by 6.4% in July compared to the same month last year, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today.
The CSO said that retail sales volumes rose by 1.5% in July from June, when all retailers here were allowed reopen after a Covid-19 shutdown.
Restaurants also reopened at the end of June, but pubs that do not serve food and nightclubs are still closed.
Today's figures show that the largest monthly volume increase was seen in the bars sector, with sales jumping by 138.5% - although this compared with a very low June figure. The volume of trade is still down 53% on an annual basis.
Sales of electrical goods were up 26.5% compared to July 2019 while furniture and lighting was up 21.1%.
Other sectors showing large monthly volume increases were clothing, footwear and textiles, with sales up 25.5%, while fuel sales were up 10.3%.
The CSO said that retail sales in July were 4.7% higher than in February 2020 before the crisis started.
But it noted that not every sector has fully recovered.
Sales in bars are 55% lower, books, newspapers and stationery sales are 39.1% weaker, while sales in department stores are down 17.1% and fuel sales are still 7.2% lower below their February level.
The CSO also noted that as the volume of people out shopping increased with shops reopening, the proportion of online retail sales fell to 4.5% in July, compared with an online share of 6.7% in June.
