This chapter contains information on the services sector. Data is taken from the Retail Sales Inquiry and the Monthly Services Inquiry. 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. The Monthly Services Inquiry measures changes in output in the non-financial traded services sector. The annual services inquiry data is currently unavailable as there is a revision and methodological review for reference years 2008 - 2014. Services and Distributive data for these years will be published in November 2016 with the yearbook being updated in due course.
| 10.1 Volume indices of retail sales | ||||||
| Base year 2005=100 | ||||||
| Businesses | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Motor trades | 64.4 | 68.4 | 64.7 | 64.8 | 77.9 | 91.9 |
| Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating | 116.0 | 103.5 | 116.2 | 117.1 | 120.3 | 125.7 |
| Department stores | 116.0 | 111.7 | 112.9 | 113.4 | 119.6 | 127.8 |
| Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores | 91.4 | 86.0 | 85.1 | 84.0 | 82.0 | 82.7 |
| Retail sale of automotive fuel | 93.6 | 85.2 | 78.7 | 76.5 | 79.0 | 80.0 |
| Retail sale of pharmaceutical, medical and cosmetic articles | 118.0 | 111.1 | 112.7 | 107.8 | 106.8 | 111.8 |
| Retail sale of textiles, clothing and footwear | 118.2 | 117.0 | 113.5 | 115.8 | 121.7 | 133.2 |
| Retail sale of furniture and lighting | 77.4 | 72.7 | 71.0 | 75.5 | 91.3 | 106.4 |
| Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass | 84.7 | 80.5 | 75.5 | 78.0 | 81.0 | 85.3 |
| Retail sale of electrical goods | 126.2 | 131.0 | 145.0 | 151.4 | 164.9 | 180.6 |
| Retail sale of books, newspapers, stationery | 72.5 | 65.9 | 61.5 | 58.0 | 55.9 | 56.2 |
| Other retail sales | 102.8 | 94.3 | 90.3 | 93.1 | 100.7 | 114.3 |
| Bars | 74.3 | 70.2 | 66.6 | 64.8 | 64.5 | 67.6 |
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades | 103.0 | 100.3 | 100.1 | 100.9 | 104.6 | 111.0 |
| All retail businesses | 93.9 | 93.1 | 92.1 | 92.7 | 98.6 | 106.7 |
| Combined groups | ||||||
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades and bars | 106.8 | 104.2 | 104.5 | 105.6 | 109.9 | 116.7 |
| Motor trades and automotive fuel | 67.4 | 70.6 | 67.0 | 67.3 | 78.1 | 89.4 |
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades, automotive fuel and bars | 108.9 | 106.7 | 107.3 | 108.5 | 112.9 | 120.3 |
| Retail sale of food | 112.7 | 112.0 | 113.5 | 114.2 | 116.9 | 122.0 |
| Retail sale of non food products, excluding motor trades, automotive fuel and bars | 105.3 | 101.7 | 101.5 | 103.0 | 109.1 | 118.8 |
| Retail sale of household equipment | 100.8 | 100.3 | 104.0 | 108.5 | 118.5 | 129.6 |
| Retail sale of books, newspapers stationery and other goods | 97.3 | 89.2 | 85.1 | 86.8 | 92.6 | 103.8 |
| Source: CSO | ||||||
Interactive table: StatBank link
| Business Sectors | All Business | All Businesses excluding motors |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 93.1 | 100.3 |
| 2012 | 92.1 | 100.1 |
| 2013 | 92.7 | 100.9 |
| 2014 | 98.6 | 104.6 |
| 2015 | 106.7 | 111 |
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 2015, the volume of retail sales in all businesses increased by 8.2% when compared to 2014, while all businesses excluding motors increased by 6.1%. All sectors showed an increase on 2014 with the volume of retail sales of Motor trades increasing by 18.0% in 2015.
| 10.2 Value Indices of Non-Financial Traded Services Sector | ||||||
| Base year 2010=100 | ||||||
| Sector | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Wholesale and retail trade repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G) | 100.0 | 107.3 | 109.7 | 105.5 | 108.9 | 120.5 |
| Transportation and storage (H) | 100.0 | 103.8 | 109.4 | 111.0 | 116.6 | 116.2 |
| Accommodation and food service activities (I) | 100.0 | 101.2 | 103.5 | 103.6 | 110.4 | 121.6 |
| Information and communication (J) | 100.0 | 103.4 | 112.8 | 119.8 | 128.0 | 130.5 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities (M) | 100.0 | 101.2 | 90.4 | 85.2 | 84.7 | 92.0 |
| Administrative and support service activities (N) | 100.0 | 92.7 | 99.3 | 121.5 | 121.6 | 123.2 |
| Other Services (68, 92 to 96) | 100.0 | 100.6 | 96.8 | 93.2 | 99.8 | 102.3 |
| All Services (45 to 63, 68 to 82, 92 to 96) | 100.0 | 103.3 | 106.0 | 107.3 | 111.7 | 118.0 |
| Source: CSO | ||||||
The value of the non-financial traded services sector was 18.0% higher in 2015 than in 2010. In this five year period, the greatest increase was in the Information and Communication sector, which recorded 30.5% more activity than in 2010. Only one sector, Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities (-8.0%) recorded a decrease in activity in the same period.
In the year to end 2015, the non-financial traded services sector increased in value by 5.6%. The largest annual increases were in Wholesale and Retail Trade (10.7%) and Accommodation and food service activities (10.1%). Only the Transport and Storage sector (-0.3%) showed a decrease in value.
Interactive Table: Statbank link
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