Barbecues, ice cream, and cider sales have bloomed during the recent heatwave, with many retailers across Ireland reporting their significant boosts in sales, according to the Irish Times.
The Times highlighted that the hospitality industry was taking a hit from the sunny spell, as the hot weather has people eating smaller lunches and for tourists to explore more of the country.
However, while most industries are booming outside of their hotspots, retail is seeing a major push.
The "Extra Living Room"
Chief executive of Retail Excellence, Lorraine Higgins, said that shops that sold garden furniture and barbecues were pulling major traction.
“Barbecue sales are hitting record highs according to a number of garden centres,” Higgins told The Irish Times.
“Discretionary spend in terms of high end luxury shopping isn’t happening right now, but people are going the extra mile in terms of clothing they might require or groceries and alcohol.
“People are using their gardens as an extra living room. They aren’t making their way into town centres to buy. There’s been a fall in footfall as a result. Obviously that has a negative impact on retail in town centres.”
Summer Spirit
Sean Kelly, a Newport butcher owner, told The Times that barbecue products were seeing a “very big bounce” while other products suffered.
“As for the roast beef or anything like that, it’s dead in the water. You couldn’t give a roast beef away. Who the hell wants it? We’re making different types of burgers and different types of kebabs,” he said.
“We have chicken fillets on a stick. Don’t be talking about it. Just do it. We’re making a lamb sausage here, which is going very well.”
Teddy’s ice cream shops in Dun Laoghaire said that the current period is more than making up for the slow start to the season.
“There was a very bad start to this season, so I would say that at the end of the year it will probably level out. Certainly we’ve been selling an awful lot more ice cream for the last three weeks than we were this time last year,” he told the Irish Times.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
