Irish retail sales increased by 7.2% in December 2017 compared to the same month the year before, according to new figures.
Seasonally adjusted, the volume of retail sales decreased by 0.1% in the month of December, according to the latest retail sales figures from the Central Statistics Office.
If motor trades are excluded there was a decrease of 0.1% in the volume of retail sales in December 2017, compared the month before, with an increase of 7.6% annually.
"While figures might be up marginally this has occurred at the expense of intensive marketing campaigns undertaken by retailers and consequentially reduced margins," Lorraine Higgins, Retail Excellence, told The Irish Times.
Electrical goods experienced the largest monthly volume decrease (-17.9%), followed by department stores (-4.0%) and other retail sales (-2.9%).
The largest sales volume increases were recorded for furniture and lighting (3.1%) and books, newspapers and stationery (3.1%).
Value retail sales for December 2017 were up 4.5% year-on-year, while decreasing 0.5% compared to November 2017. Excluding motor trades there was a decrease of 1.0% on the month and a 4.6% increase in the annual figure.
The recovery of retail was marginal overall, according to Higgins, who called for legislation to offset the rise in cheap imported goods.