Data from Retail Ireland’s latest ‘Retail Monitor’ shows that sales values in the country grew by 4.7% in the first quarter of the year when compared with the same period in 2018, aided by a mild late Winter and early Spring.
While the figures are robust, the Ibec group highlighted that in the same period last year, Ireland found itself under a blanket of snow and was suffering the disruptive effects of Storm Emma. There has also been a modest uptick in consumer confidence this quarter coming off the back of some respite from Brexit uncertainty and this is reflected in the sales data.
Director of Retail Ireland, Thomas Burke, said: “After a rocky fourth quarter of 2018, in which trade ebbed and flow almost by the day, retailers will be hoping that a level of consistency to trade can be found in 2019.
“It is clear that retail sales patterns in the second half of 2018 were heavily impacted by Brexit related commentary. An extension to the negotiating period until October seems to have calmed nerves somewhat. The daily game of brinkmanship is no longer leading news bulletins, and for hard-pressed Irish retailers this is good news. On the back of this we have seen an uptick in consumer sentiment as people’s worst fears of a crash out Brexit, have been allayed, at least for the moment”.
The Monitor also shows that while sales are up across almost all categories of retail, the ever-present trends of discounting and the continuing shift to online are also evident, particularly in retail categories such as computers and electrical goods and department stores.
Looking ahead to remainder of the year, Burke commented: “Many businesses will have budgeted against the performance of Summer 2018. For those categories that are particularly reliant on good weather to drive footfall and sales, clearly this will prove challenging. With no guarantee of a similar prolonged spell of fine weather retailers will have to be creative if they are to achieve such heights once more.”
