DAVY VIEW

Irish core retail sales bounced back by 2.3% in August after a 3.8% fall in July, which may in part have reflected the unusually poor weather reducing footfall. Hence, there are sharp rebounds in clothing and footwear (+3.3%) and department store (+4%) sales. The bigger picture is that Irish retail sales volumes are now 10% above pre-pandemic levels, driven higher by the exceptional growth in Irish employment – up 12% over the same period.