New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that retail sales fell by 1.4% on a monthly basis in June to stand 1.8% lower than a year earlier.
The CSO said that excluding car sales, the monthly volume of retail sales was down by 0.4% in June and fell by 2% in the year when compared with June of last year.
Today's figures show that the largest monthly volume decreases were recorded in clothing, footwear and textiles sales, which dropped by 9.7%, while sales of books, newspapers and stationery slowed by 5.5% and sales in bars were down 3.5%.
But three sectors showed monthly volume increases - sales of hardware, paints and glass were up 5.3%, while sales of electrical Goods rose by 2%, and Furniture & Lighting sales edged 0.4% higher.
On an annual basis, the largest volume declines in June were reported in clothing, footwear and textiles, which fell by 6%. Sales in department stores were down 3.6%, while sales in non-specialised stores - (including supermarkets) slowed by 3.5%, and furniture and Lighting sales dipped by 2.4%.
Sectors showing annual volume growth in June were electrical goods, which surged by 12.9%, while hardware, paints and glass sales were up 2.1% and fuel sales rose by 0.3%.
Meanwhile, the value of retail sales fell by 1.4% in the month and rose by 0.2% in the 12 months to June.
Today's CSO figures also show that the proportion of retail sales transacted online (from Irish registered companies) was 4.9% in June compared with 4.8% in May and 5.8% in June of last year.
