Retail sales rebounded by the largest amount on record in June as many of the Covid-19 related lockdown restrictions were lifted by Government, data from the Central Statistics Office shows.
The volume of retail sales jumped 38.4 per cent in the month compared to May on a seasonally adjusted basis. That followed a 32.5 per cent rise in May. On an annual basis, volumes were 3.5 per cent higher.
On June 8th, all remaining retail sectors were permitted to open their doors to consumers. Among the businesses that benefitted were those in the furniture and lighting sector, where the volume of sales rose almost 297 per cent, clothing, footwear and textiles, where volumes increased 284 per cent, and books, newspapers and stationary, where volumes were up by 252 per cent on the previous month.
Bars and department stores
While retail sales in June were 3.1 per cent higher than in February, before the crisis began, not every sector has recovered. Sales volume in bars remains down by 80 per cent while department stores have seen the volume of their sales fall 17.3 per cent. A broadly similar picture can be seen compared to June 2019.
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