Provisional figures from the Central Statistics Office show that retail sales fell by 0.5% in October from the previous month and were 2.1% higher than a year earlier.
The CSO said that excluding car sales, sales volumes slipped 0.1% on the month and rose 1.5% year-on-year.
Today's figures show that the value of retail sales fell by 0.5% in the month and rose by 3.4% on an annual basis.
The sectors with the highest monthly volume decreases were Hardware, Paints & Glass, with sales down 3.5%, while Clothing, Footwear & Textiles sales fell by 1.9% and Motor Trades were down 1.7%.
The biggest volume increases were recorded in the Food, Beverages & Tobacco in specialised stores sector with sales up 4.4%, while Fuel sales rose by 1.6% and sales of Books, Newspapers & Stationery increased by 0.9%.
On an annual basis, the highest volume growth was recorded in Motor Trades, which accelerated by 5%, while Other Retail Sales - which include the likes of carpets, games and toys, flowers, plants, jewellery and pet food - rose by 3.9%, and sales of Pharmaceuticals, Medical & Cosmetic Articles were up 3.9%.
Sectors recording the largest annual volume declines were Clothing, Footwear & Textiles, which slowed by 3.8%, while sales in Bars were down 2.6%. Furniture & Lighting sales decreased by 2.6% and sales of Food, Beverages & Tobacco in specialised stores fell by 2.3%.
