Retail Trade (G47) had a total of 23,709 active enterprises in 2020. These enterprises generated almost €38.8 billion in turnover and accounted for almost 225,000 persons engaged.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are defined as enterprises with less than 250 persons engaged. In this chapter, SMEs are further split into three groups: micro enterprises with fewer than 10 persons engaged, small enterprises with between 10 and 49 persons engaged, and medium sized enterprises with between 50 and 249 persons engaged.
SMEs accounted for almost all enterprises (99.7%) in the Retail Trade in 2020. Micro enterprises accounted for 85.1%, small 12.8%, and medium 1.7% of all enterprises.
Large enterprises (250+ persons engaged) accounted for just 0.3% of all enterprises but employed more than one-third (37.8%) of all persons engaged, accounted for 46.0% of total turnover and 38.9% of gross value added (GVA).
| X-axis label | Large (250+ persons engaged) | SMEs (<250 persons engaged) |
|---|---|---|
| Active Enterprises | 0.3 | 99.7 |
| Persons Engaged | 37.8 | 62.2 |
| Turnover | 46 | 54 |
| Gross Value Added | 38.9 | 61.1 |
| Purchases | 43.9 | 56.1 |
| Personnel Costs | 41.4 | 58.6 |
| Wages and Salaries | 41.1 | 58.9 |
The Retail Trade sector purchased €28.8 billion worth of goods and services in 2020. Purchases of Goods for resale accounted for the largest business cost at €24.6 billion or 72.5% of total costs, followed by Labour costs (Wages & salaries and Social security costs) at 14.6%.
| Business Costs | |
| Wages & salaries | 13.4 |
| Social security costs | 1.2 |
| Purchases of goods for resale | 72.5 |
| Other purchases | 12.5 |
| Indirect taxes | 0.4 |
In Retail Trade, the business groups with the highest turnover were Non-Specialised Stores (incl. Supermarkets) which generated turnover of €16.4 billion (42.2%), Pharmaceuticals, Medical & Cosmetic Articles (€4.2 billion or 10.8%) and Other Retail Sales (€3.3 billion or 8.5%). Other Retail Sales includes a range of goods including specialised items such as home heating oil and online sales. It should be noted that in the case of online sales, only turnover of Irish resident companies is included.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Turnover |
|---|---|
| Non-Specialised Stores (incl. Supermarkets) | 16361 |
| Pharmaceuticals, Medical & Cosmetic Articles | 4176 |
| Other Retail Sales | 3295 |
| Clothing, Footwear & Textiles | 2707 |
| Fuel | 2458 |
| Electrical Goods | 2014 |
| Hardware, Paints & Glass | 1854 |
| Department Stores | 1797 |
| Food, Beverages & Tobacco | 1486 |
| Furniture & Lighting | 1018 |
| Mail order and online sales | 700 |
| Not included in the RSI (G4779, G478 and G4799) | 490 |
| Books, Newspapers & Stationery | 396 |
The Retail Sales Index excluding Motor Trades and Bars is a leading indicator of the domestic economy published each month. There is a peak each year at Christmas time and at other times of the year due to seasonal sales or other holiday periods. The series is seasonally adjusted to remove this element and to allow for trends in the Retail Trade to be identified. The largest monthly seasonally adjusted decline in the volume of sales occurred in April 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions were first imposed (-21.9%). This was followed by the highest seasonally adjusted monthly increase in June 2020 (22.7%) when restrictions were lifted for the retail sector. When restrictions were re-imposed later in 2020 the monthly decline was not as dramatic (-10.3% in November 2020 and -15.0% in January 2021). The retail sector has recovered to pre-pandemic levels since restrictions were ended.
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