Press Statement

Preasráiteas

28 March 2022

Go to release: Retail Sales Index February 2022

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (28 March 2022) released the Retail Sales Index February 2022 (Provisional) January 2022 (Final).

Commenting on the release, Stephanie Kelleher, Statistician, said: "Retail Sales increased by 0.9% in February 2022 when compared to January 2022 on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an annual basis, retail volumes were 2.2% higher than in February 2021. 

In February 2022, the largest monthly volume increases in sales were recorded in Bars (+13.9%), Hardware, Paints & Glass (+7.0%) and Electrical Goods (+4.8%). The largest monthly decreases in the volume of sales were in Department Stores (-5.4%) and Furniture & Lighting (-1.2%)."

Providing further analysis of the figures, Stephanie Kelleher said: "Several sectors showed very large annual increases in the volume of sales, compared with February 2021 when there was a full lockdown which curtailed non-essential retail and services. The volume of sales in Bars rose by 726% compared with February 2021. Clothing & Footwear saw an annual volume increase (+295%), Department Stores (+88.1%) and Books, Newspapers & Stationery (+79.5%). In these sectors, the annual increase reflects a recovery from a very low base in February 2021 when the country was in Level 5 lockdown. To help our users we have included additional analysis in Table 3a and Figure 3a comparing February 2022 with February 2020 (two years earlier and pre-COVID-19).  The volume of retail sales in February 2022 was 3.1% higher than February 2020. The highest increases were seen in Clothing & Footwear (+49.0%), Food, Beverages & Tobacco (Specialised Stores) (+19.3%) and Electrical Goods (+16.7%). The largest decreases in the volume of sales in February 2022 when compared with February 2020 levels, were Bars (-30.2%) and Books, Newspapers & Stationery (-10.1%).

Compared to a year ago, the three sectors which showed the largest reduction in volume were Electrical Goods (-12.9%), Hardware, Paints & Glass (-11.8%) and Non-Specialised Stores (incl. Supermarkets) (-8.1%). 

The proportion of retail sales transacted online (from Irish registered companies) was 4.7% in February 2022 compared with 5.6% in January 2022, 11.8% in February 2021 and 3.5% in February 2020.

The impact of price change is reflected in the difference between value and volume. In Fuel for example, the value of sales rose by 46.5% in the year to February 2022 while the volume rose by just 18.1% over the same period, the difference due to higher prices compared to the previous year.  

We would like to note that despite difficult circumstances, many retailers have continued to supply the CSO with information each month and we wish to thank all respondents for their ongoing support. The CSO can only compile such comprehensive releases ... Because You told Us."

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