Retail Sales Fall By 9.1%

The volume of retail sales (i.e. excluding price effects) decreased by 9.1% in October 2009 compared to October last year.

There was a monthly decrease of 0.3%. If Motor Trades are excluded the volume of retail sales decreased by 6.7% in October 2009 compared to a year before and the monthly change was -1.7%.

All sectors showed year on year volume declines with the most significant declines being in non-specialised stores (including supermarkets) which were down by 3.1%, motor trades which fell by 24.1%, clothing, footwear and textiles (down 6.8%), household equipment (down by 11.7%) and retail sales in bars, where sales volume fell by 8.2%.

The value of retail sales decreased by 13.9% in October 2009 compared to October 2008 and decreased by 0.6% in the month.

However, if Motor Trades are excluded, the annual decrease was 12.0% and the monthly change was -1.6%.