Retail sales in Ireland were ‘subdued’ in the first quarter of the year, with sales particularly affected by Storm Emma, according to Retail Ireland, a group that represents the sector.
The storm, which hit Ireland at the start of March, led to sales losses of more than 30% that week, Retail Ireland said in its latest Irish Retail Monitor.
It noted that after a strong start to 2018, retailers have ‘struggled to make up for the lost sales’ during the storm, which ran into the tens of millions of euros industry-wide.
'Strong Start'
“Our members enjoyed a strong start to 2018 with a buoyant economy and growing consumer disposable income fuelling strong sales,” said Retail Ireland director Thomas Burke.
“However, the benefit of that increase was largely wiped away during the last week of February, as Storm Emma caused widespread disruption and closures over four key trading days (Thursday-Sunday), and longer-term supply chain and consumer disruption which ran into a full week.
“According to our Monitor, members have reported like-for-like falls of over 30% when compared to the same week in 2017, as retail outlets were forced to close and supply chains disrupted.”
With regard to supermarkets and convenience stores specifically, Storm Emma actually helped lift sales, as consumers stocked up on essentials, Retail Ireland said.
Total sales values increased by 4% in Q1 2018, compared to the same quarter last year, and total sales volumes were 6% higher compared to the first quarter of last year.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
