Discounting has deepened over the last two years, according to Savills’ latest report on the retail market in Ireland.
It outlined that while sales volumes are up by one third since January 2013, deflation has been a consistent theme across Irish retail for nearly five years.
"One reason is an ongoing compositional shift in the Irish retail landscape towards mid-market and value offerings such as Penneys and the discount supermarkets. It also reflects lower input costs for retailers due to lower oil prices since mid-2013 and, more recently, weak Sterling." John McCartney, Director of Research at Savills Ireland said.
“But the fact that retailers are being compelled to pass-on these savings to the consumer illustrates just how competitive the retail market in Ireland is, and the continuing disparity between volume and value sales is an area of focus for retailers trading in Ireland.”
The report also noted that the growth of ‘Omni-channel’ retailing, the trend of 'omni-channel' retailing is growing rapidly.
"Initially, the dominant pathway to omni-channel retailing has been for traditional operators to establish online platforms." Kevin Sweeney, Retail Director at Savills Ireland added.
However, we are now also seeing online-only retailers migrating to an omni-channel approach by opening physical stores, such as Amazon and Missguided.”
© 2017 - Checkout Magazine by Donna Ahern
