This chapter contains information on the services sector. Data is taken from the Retail Sales Inquiry and the Monthly Services Inquiry. The primary purpose of the Retail Sales Inquiry is to provide a short-term indication of changes in the value and volume (or quantity) of retail sales in Ireland. The Monthly Services Inquiry measures changes in output in the non-financial traded services sector.
| 11.1 Volume indices of retail sales | |||||||
| Base 2010=100 | |||||||
| Businesses | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
| Motor trades | 100.0 | 106.3 | 99.8 | 101.1 | 119.0 | 137.8 | 152.0 |
| Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating | 100.0 | 99.2 | 97.5 | 98.5 | 102.5 | 108.2 | 111.8 |
| Department stores | 100.0 | 95.0 | 97.5 | 98.8 | 103.8 | 109.8 | 115.1 |
| Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores | 100.0 | 97.1 | 97.1 | 95.9 | 93.6 | 95.7 | 97.9 |
| Retail sale of automotive fuel | 100.0 | 93.6 | 90.8 | 92.6 | 95.7 | 97.4 | 99.4 |
| Retail sale of pharmaceutical, medical and cosmetic articles | 100.0 | 93.9 | 95.0 | 91.4 | 90.7 | 96.6 | 100.8 |
| Retail sale of textiles, clothing and footwear | 100.0 | 99.5 | 98.0 | 100.2 | 105.5 | 115.4 | 124.5 |
| Retail sale of furniture and lighting | 100.0 | 93.4 | 98.3 | 100.5 | 132.3 | 161.3 | 181.9 |
| Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass | 100.0 | 94.6 | 89.4 | 95.3 | 100.4 | 106.6 | 113.6 |
| Retail sale of electrical goods | 100.0 | 106.5 | 118.8 | 124.4 | 135.6 | 152.7 | 164.1 |
| Retail sale of books, newspapers, stationery | 100.0 | 89.8 | 83.4 | 78.8 | 76.2 | 76.7 | 75.0 |
| Other retail sales | 100.0 | 94.6 | 93.2 | 100.1 | 109.5 | 119.4 | 128.7 |
| Bars | 100.0 | 95.6 | 90.7 | 87.6 | 86.5 | 90.6 | 94.1 |
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades | 100.0 | 97.1 | 94.3 | 97.5 | 102.7 | 110.3 | 116.1 |
| All retail businesses | 100.0 | 99.1 | 93.8 | 98.3 | 106.4 | 116.5 | 124.3 |
| Combined groups | |||||||
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades and bars | 100.0 | 97.2 | 96.6 | 98.2 | 103.8 | 111.6 | 117.6 |
| Motor trades and automotive fuel | 100.0 | 103.8 | 98.1 | 99.4 | 114.7 | 130.4 | 142.3 |
| All retail businesses, excluding motor trades, automotive fuel and bars | 100.0 | 97.4 | 97.1 | 98.6 | 104.4 | 112.6 | 118.9 |
| Retail sale of food | 100.0 | 98.7 | 97.2 | 98.0 | 101.3 | 106.6 | 110.0 |
| Retail sale of non food products, excluding motor trades, automotive fuel and bars | 100.0 | 96.3 | 96.9 | 99.1 | 107.0 | 117.8 | 126.5 |
| Retail sale of household equipment | 100.0 | 97.9 | 102.3 | 106.7 | 124.4 | 143.2 | 157.0 |
| Retail sale of books, newspapers stationery and other goods | 100.0 | 93.7 | 91.3 | 95.9 | 103.0 | 111.1 | 118.3 |
| Source: CSO | |||||||
Interactive table: StatBank link
| Business Sectors | All Business | All Businesses excluding motors |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 93.8 | 94.3 |
| 2013 | 98.3 | 97.5 |
| 2014 | 106.4 | 102.7 |
| 2015 | 116.5 | 110.3 |
| 2016 | 124.3 | 116.1 |
The primary purpose of the RSI is to provide a short-term indication of changes in the value and volume (or quantity) of retail sales in Ireland. It provides an accurate and objective measure of retail trading and supplies a valuable guide to consumer spending behaviour in the Irish economy.
In 2016, the volume of retail sales in All businesses increased by 6.7% when compared to 2015, while All businesses excluding motors increased by 5.3%. All sectors showed an increase on 2015 with the volume of retail sales of Furniture and lighting increasing by 12.8% in 2016 with the exception of Books, newspapers & stationery with a decrease of 2.2% on the previous year.
| 11.2 Value Indices of Non-Financial Traded Services Sector | ||||||
| Base year 2010=100 | ||||||
| Sector | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
| Wholesale and retail trade repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G) | 107.3 | 109.7 | 105.5 | 108.9 | 120.6 | 127.2 |
| Transportation and storage (H) | 103.8 | 109.4 | 111.0 | 116.7 | 116.2 | 109.2 |
| Accommodation and food service activities (I) | 101.2 | 103.5 | 103.5 | 110.4 | 121.6 | 132.1 |
| Information and communication (J) | 103.4 | 112.8 | 119.8 | 127.9 | 130.8 | 154.0 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities (M) | 101.2 | 90.4 | 85.2 | 84.7 | 92.0 | 93.8 |
| Administrative and support service activities (N) | 92.7 | 99.3 | 121.5 | 121.6 | 123.3 | 108.1 |
| Other Services (68, 92 to 96) | 100.6 | 96.9 | 93.2 | 99.8 | 102.3 | 97.2 |
| All Services (45 to 63, 68 to 82, 92 to 96) | 103.3 | 106.0 | 107.3 | 111.7 | 118.1 | 124.5 |
| Source: CSO | ||||||
Interactive Table: Statbank link
The value of the non-financial traded services sector was 20.5% higher in 2016 than in 2011. In this five year period, the greatest increase was in the Information and Communication sector, which recorded 48.9% more activity than in 2011. Two sectors, Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities and Other Services recorded respective decreases in activity of 7.3% and 3.4% in the same period.
In the year to end 2016, the non-financial traded services sector increased in value by 5.4%. The largest annual increases were in Information and Communication (17.7%) and Accommodation and Food Service activities (8.6%). Administrative and Support Service Actvities (-12.3%), Transportation and Storage (-6.0%) and Other Services (-5.0) recorded decreases in the same period.
Go to next chapter >>> Industry
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.