Retail sales in Carlow fell by 3.1% in September

The volume of retail sales fell by 3.1% in September and decreased by 7% overall compared with the same period last year.

Figures from the Central Statistic Office (CSO) show two sectors – bars and pharmaceuticals – were the only ones to show an annual increase in the volume of sales last month.

Bar sales rose by 7.5% on an annual basis while pharmaceuticals, medical and cosmetic articles jumped by 1.4%.

The figures also show that despite this recovery over the previous year, bar sales remained 16% lower than the pre-Covid-19 level in February 2020.

The figures also show that largest monthly volume decreases were in food, beverages and tobacco at a drop of 7.2%, followed by clothing, footwear and textiles at 5.1%, while department store sales dropped by 4.2% in September.

The largest monthly volume increases were in books, newspapers and stationery at an increase of 5.3%; furniture and lighting at a rise of 2.5%, and hardware, paints and glass at 2.2%.

The sectors which showed the largest annual decrease in sales included ‘other retail sales’, which dropped by 23.7%.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco fell over the past year by 13.3%, car sales fell by 8.3%, while clothing, footwear and textiles dropped by 7.5%.

The proportion of retail sales transacted online, from Irish registered companies, rose marginally to 5.3% in September 2022 from 4.8% in August 2022, 4.6% in September 2021, and 4.5% in September 2020.

The value of retail sales in the fuel sector rose by 17.6% in the year to September, while the corresponding volume fell by 3.9% over the same period, reflecting higher prices compared with the previous year.

Meanwhile, the amount spent using credit and debit cards dropped by 7% last month compared with August.

It said that, most notably, education saw an increase of 67% in comparison with August.

The volume card transactions was 10% lower last month compared with August.

Total in-store spending amounted to 3.7 billion euro in September, representing a decrease of 12% compared with the previous month and a 9% or 312 million euro year-on-year increase.

The proportion of total spending carried out in-store was 52%.

Total online expenditure decreased by 1%, to 3.4 billion euro, compared with the previous month and saw an increase of 16% when compared with September 2021.