New provisional figures from the Central Statistics Office show that retail sales rose by 1.5% in January from the previous month and were 3% higher than a year earlier, rising at the quickest year-on-year pace in four months.
Excluding motor trades, sales volumes slipped 0.4% on the month and rose 2.1% year-on-year, the CSO said.
The CSO said the sectors with the highest monthly volume increases were books, newspapers and stationery, with sales jumping by 13.8%, while hardware, paints and glass sales were up 3%. Sales of clothing, footwear and textiles rose by 2.6% and fuel sales were up 2%.
The largest monthly volume falls were seen in car sales, which slowed by 9.6%, while pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles were down 7% and sales of electrical goods fell by 2.8%.
Meanwhile, the value of retail sales was 1.3% higher in January than in December and was up by 4.2% when compared with January 2025.
