New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that retail sales volumes fell by 1.6% on a monthly basis in May, the first decrease so far this year.
Decreases were recorded for clothing, footwear and textiles, books newspapers and stationery, and car sales.
But on an annual basis, retail sales volumes were up 5.1% in May, driven by a more than 11% growth in car sales and 10% growth in fuel.
The CSO said that when motor trades are excluded, retail sales rose by 0.1% in the month and by 2.6% in the year.
Today's figures show that the largest monthly volume decreases were seen in the Clothing, Footwear and Textiles sector, with sales there dropping by 21.6%. Sales of Books, Newspapers & Stationery were down 7.8% and and Motor Trades slowed by 7%.
They also reveal that the highest monthly volume increases were recorded in the Electrical Goods sector, with sales there up 4.1%.
Other Retail Sales - which includes the likes of carpets, music and video recordings, games and toys, flowers, plants, seeds, fertilisers, pet food as well as jewellery - rose by 3.2% while Pharmaceuticals, Medical and Cosmetic Articles sales were up 2.2%.
On an annual basis, the CSO said that car sales jumped by 11.2%, while fuel sales were up 10%, sales in Bars grew by 7.4%, while Other Retail Sales increased by 6.6% and Furniture and Lighting sales were up 6.5%.
Sales of Hardware, Paints & Glass were down 4.3% in May while Department Stores sales eased by 3.3%, the CSO added.
The CSO said the value of retail sales was 1.7% lower in May compared to April, while they were 9.2% higher than a year earlier.
Excluding Motor Trades, the value of retail sales rose by 0.2% in the month and by 5.5% on an annual basis.
The CSO said the proportion of retail sales carried out online, from Irish registered companies, stood at 5.2% in May 2023 compared with 5.1% in April 2023, 5.7% in May 2022 and 5.6% in May 2021.
