New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the volume of retail sales fell by 2% in February when compared with January on a seasonally adjusted basis.
On an annual basis, the CSO said that retail volumes were 1.1% higher than in February of last year.
It added that when car sales are excluded, the volume of retail sales was unchanged in the month and rose by 0.7% in the year when compared with February 2023.
Today's CSO figures show that the biggest monthly volume decreases were seen in the car sales, which slowed by 9%. Sales in Department Stores were down 7.1% in February, while sales of clothing, footwear and textiles fell by 6.3% and food, beverages and tobacco sales in specialised stores decreased by 5.1%.
However, monthly volume increases were recorded in bar sales, which jumped by 11.8%, Sales of hardware, paints anad glass rose by 10.5% and sales in non-specialised Stores - which includes supermarkets - inched 0.3% higher.
Meanwhile, the largest annual volume growth in February was seen in sales of electrical goods, which rose by 7%, while clothing, footwear and textiles sales were up 4.4%, and Other Retail Sales grew by 2.1%.
Other Retail Sales include the likes of carpets, music and video recordings, games and toys, flowers, plants, seeds, fertilisers, pet food as well as jewellery.
Sectors showing the biggest annual volume declines in February were Department Stores, with sales sinking 14.8%, while sales of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores dropped by 7.9% and sales of hardware, paints and glass were down 5%.
The CSO said the value of retail sales was down by 0.7% in the month and rose by 3% in the 12 months to February 2024.
It also noted that the proportion of retail sales transacted online - from Irish registered companies - stood at 4.9% in February 2024.
This was down from the level of 5.7% in January and 5.2% in February of last year.
