This chapter contains information on the services sector. Data is taken from the Annual Services Inquiry (ASI) and the Monthly Sales Inquiry.
The Annual Services Inquiry provides information on the structure of the services sectors with principal and supplementary aggregates given in the tables. The primary purpose of the Retail Sales Inquiry is to provide a short-term indication of changes in the value and volume (or quantity) of retail sales in Ireland.
| 10.1 Volume indices of retail sales | |||||
| Base year 2005=100 | |||||
| Businesses | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Motor trades | 64.4 | 68.4 | 64.7 | 64.8 | 77.9 |
| Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating | 116.0 | 103.5 | 116.2 | 117.1 | 120.3 |
| Department stores | 116.0 | 111.7 | 112.9 | 113.4 | 119.6 |
| Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores | 91.4 | 86.0 | 85.1 | 84.0 | 82.0 |
| Retail sale of automotive fuel | 93.6 | 85.2 | 78.7 | 76.5 | 79.0 |
| Retail sale of pharmaceutical, medical and cosmetic articles | 118.0 | 111.1 | 112.7 | 107.8 | 106.8 |
| Retail sale of textiles, clothing and footwear | 118.2 | 117.0 | 113.5 | 115.8 | 121.7 |
| Retail sale of furniture and lighting | 77.4 | 72.7 | 71.0 | 75.5 | 91.3 |
| Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass | 84.7 | 80.5 | 75.5 | 78.0 | 81.0 |
| Retail sale of electrical goods | 126.2 | 131.0 | 145.0 | 151.4 | 164.9 |
| Retail sale of books, newspapers, stationery | 72.5 | 65.9 | 61.5 | 58.0 | 55.9 |
| Other retail sales | 102.8 | 94.3 | 90.3 | 93.1 | 100.7 |
| Bars | 74.3 | 70.2 | 66.6 | 64.8 | 64.5 |
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades | 103.0 | 100.3 | 100.1 | 100.9 | 104.6 |
| All retail businesses | 93.9 | 93.1 | 92.1 | 92.7 | 98.6 |
| Combined groups | |||||
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades and bars | 106.8 | 104.2 | 104.5 | 105.6 | 109.9 |
| Motor trades and automotive fuel | 67.4 | 70.6 | 67.0 | 67.3 | 78.1 |
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades, automotive fuel and bars | 108.9 | 106.7 | 107.3 | 108.5 | 112.9 |
| Retail sale of food | 112.7 | 112.0 | 113.5 | 114.2 | 116.9 |
| Retail sale of non food products, excluding motor trades, automotive fuel and bars | 105.3 | 101.7 | 101.5 | 103.0 | 109.1 |
| Retail sale of household equipment | 100.8 | 100.3 | 104.0 | 108.5 | 118.5 |
| Retail sale of books, newspapers stationery and other goods | 97.3 | 89.2 | 85.1 | 86.8 | 92.6 |
| Source: CSO | |||||
Interactive table: StatBank link
| Business Sectors | All Business | All Businesses excluding motors |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 93.9 | 103 |
| 2011 | 93.1 | 100.3 |
| 2012 | 92.1 | 100.1 |
| 2013 | 92.7 | 100.9 |
| 2014 | 98.6 | 104.6 |
The primary purpose of the RSI is to provide a short-term indication of changes in the value and volume (or quantity) of retail sales in Ireland. It provides an accurate and objective measure of retail trading and supplies a valuable guide to consumer spending behaviour in the Irish economy.
In 2014 the volume of retail sales in all businesses increased by 6.4% when compared to 2013, while all businesses excluding motors increased by 3.7%. The volume of retail sales of furniture and lighting increased by 20.9% in 2014 while the retail sales of books, newspapers, stationery showed a decrease of 3.6% on the 2013 figure.
| 10.2 Annual Services Inquiry (ASI) 2009 - 2012 | |||||||
| Percentage change | |||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2009 - 2012 | 2011 - 2012 | ||
| Turnover (€million) | 187,874 | 190,430 | 204,512 | 213,100 | +13.4 | + 4.2 | |
| Gross Value Added (€million) | 45,838 | 46,532 | 48,990 | 49,320 | + 7.6 | + 0.7 | |
| Persons engaged (number) | 918,547 | 891,190 | 893,300 | 903,657 | -1.6 | + 1.2 | |
| Source: CSO | |||||||
Turnover in the Services and Distribution sector for 2012 was €213bn while Gross Value Added (GVA) was €49bn. This represents an annual increase of 4.2% in turnover and 0.7% in GVA since 2011. Over the period 2009 to 2012 turnover has increased by 13.4% and GVA has risen by 7.6%.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G) | 101.579927 | 102.965232 | 103.807453 |
| Transportation and storage (H) | 13.436874 | 15.698021 | 16.578823 |
| Accommodation and food service activities (I) | 7.767944 | 7.869797 | 7.912173 |
| Information and communication (J) | 42.631142 | 52.334961 | 56.798679 |
| Real estate activities (L) | 1.542341 | 1.683749 | 1.49556 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities (M) | 11.682256 | 11.512624 | 13.227926 |
| Administrative and support service activities (N) | 8.313607 | 9.248297 | 10.27026 |
| Other service activities (92,93,95,96) | 3.476206 | 3.199562 | 3.009112 |
Interactive table: Statbank link
Amongst the most notable year on year changes in turnover for 2012 were increases in Professional, scientific and technical activities, which grew by 14.9% and the Information and communication sector which reported an increase of 8.5%. Of the increase of €8.6bn in total turnover, Information and communication accounted for €4.5bn.
The value of Wholesale and retail trade has seen year on year increases since 2009, with an increase of 0.8% between 2011 and 2012.
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