Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) has said that yesterday's CSO figures, which showed a fall in the volume of sales by 2.9% in August, is an indication that the retail recovery is "sectorally based and is not universal."
Food, Beverages & Tobacco sector was one of the weaker performing sectors, the study found, with the value of sales declining 2.4% on a month-to-month basis (-3.5% year-on-year), and volume down 2.4% month-on-month (-2.7% year-on-year).
Other sectors, however, displayed significant growth, with value sales in Furniture & Lighting up 14.5% year-on-year, and Electrical Goods up 5.1%.
Value sales in 'Non-Specialised Stores' (which includes supermarkets), were up 2.9% year-on-year, with volumes up 3.7%.
Across all sectors, the value of retail sales increased by 2.2% (excluding motor trade data) on an annualised basis, which "is another indicator that a recovery is taking hold in consumer spending," said REI deputy chief executive Seán Murphy.
However, he added, "For a more broad-based revival to take hold, both retailers and consumers need Budget 2015 to resolutely focus on supporting the domestic economy and putting money back into taxpayers’ pockets. Only then will we see a really significant uptick in consumption and real job creation in the domestic economy."
Last week, Retail Excellence Ireland launched a 'Strategy for Rural Retailing, at the 2014 National Ploughing Championships with Minister for Rural Affairs, Ann Phelan. The strategy has been developed to assist rural towns with developing collaborative projects to help re-engage consumers with town centre businesses.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
{loadposition ri30092014}
