New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that retail sales jumped by 44% in May compared to the same time last year as the economy started to re-emerge from Covid-19 lockdowns.
The CSO said that retail sales increased by 1.8% in May on a monthly basis, while they were 6.8% higher compared to two years earlier.
Recovering from the low level of May last year, the sectors with the highest annual volume increases included clothing, footwear and textiles where sales soared by 462%. Furniture and lighting sales jumped by 195% and motor trades rose by 139%.
The CSO said that while these annual increases are significant, caution should be exercised when interpreting these changes, as the comparison is with a low base from a year ago.
In May of last year, the annual volume of retail sales in clothing, footwear and textiles fell by 78.5%.
Furniture and lighting sales were down 66.5% and motor trades dropped by 50.2%.
The CSO noted that several sectors are below their corresponding level of sales in May 2019, including bars which are still 92% below 2019 levels.
Sales of books, newspapers and stationery are 65.2% lower and Department Stores sales are still down 17.3%.
Today's figures show that the largest monthly volume increases in sales in May were seen in the clothing, footwear and textiles sector, which rose by 198% and Department Stores sales jumped by 197%.
For the first time this year both sectors reopened - on May 10 by appointment only and fully on May 17 - and was in contrast to May of last year when both sectors were closed.
The largest decreases in the month were in bars, which fell by 33% from a very low base and books, newspapers and stationery, which decreased by 27.4%
