New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the volume of retail sales decreased by 1.5% in August and was down by 2.5% on the same month last year.
The CSO said the value of retail sales fell by 1.6% in the month and declined by 2.2% in the 12 months to August.
Excluding car sales, the CSO said the monthly volume of retail sales was down by 0.5% in August and fell by 1.7% in the year when compared with August 2023.
The sectors with the biggest monthly volume decreases were motor trades with sales down by 6%, while sales of hardware, paints and glass fell by 3% and other retail sales - which includes the likes of carpets, games and toys, flowers and plants, pet food, jewellery and household fuels - eased by 1.8%.
But monthly volume increases were recorded in the bars sector with sales rising by 3.6%, while sales of pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles increased by 3.3%, furniture and lighting sales were up 1.2% and fuel sales inched 0.4% higher.
On an annual basis, the sectors with the the highest annual volume declines in August were electrical goods with sales there down 8%, while bar sales fell by 5.6%, motor trades slowed by 4.9% and fuel sales decreased by 2.7%.
Annual volume growth was recorded in furniture and lighting with sales up 2.2%, while hardware, paints and glass rose by 1.8% and clothing, footwear and textiles gained 0.8%.
Today's figures show that the proportion of retail sales transacted online - from Irish registered companies - was 4.9% in August, higher than the 4.8% recorded in July and 4.5% in August of last year.
