Irish shoppers have been out and about and spending money both in the run-up to Christmas and in the opening days of the winter sales.
Early indications suggest shops will come close to matching sales figures not seen since the last Christmas before Covid in 2019, particularly when a surge in online shopping done on Christmas Day is added to the mix.
Duncan Graham of Retail Excellence, an umbrella group representing the retail sector, said sales slowed during the cold snap in the middle of December but concerns about a sluggish winter season eased with a solid bounce in the week leading up to Christmas.
“Sales came back very strongly in the final week when we had a lot of people who had come back to the country from overseas who traditionally do their Christmas shopping later in the week,” he said.
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Mr Graham said the huge surge in online sales was “sometimes underestimated” and pointed out that a lot of shopping happens on Christmas Day now.
“Christmas Day sales have been huge and continue to grow and while we don’t have the numbers yet, I think when they do come out and we bolt the online spending to the more traditional retail spending we will be on a par with 2019.”
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Mr Graham said the opening day of the winter sales on Monday was comparatively quiet with many retailers opting to remain closed to give staff two days off, but he pointed to what amounts to a week’s worth of shopping days ahead before people start going back to work.
According to Arnold Dillon of Retail Ireland, Ibec’s retail division, there has been a “steady start to the sales period, after a positive few weeks in the run-up to Christmas”
He pointed to “major changes since last year” including the changing profile of Covid-19, while in 2020 there were significant restrictions in place.
“This year we are back to more normal pre-Covid trends. People are determined to get the full Christmas experience, with footfall up significantly on last year. In many parts of the country we’re back to pre-Covid levels,” Mr Dillon said.
He also noted Christmas Day had fallen “at a good time of the week for retail – we had a full week of trading in the run-up.”
Looking to the future, Mr Dillon was more downbeat and warned the “inflationary outlook remains challenging and this continues to impact consumer sentiment. Consumers are increasingly value-conscious, and businesses are tailoring their offering accordingly.
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He said although Retail Ireland’s growth outlook “has been revised downwards”, it does not “anticipate a recession.
“Jobs numbers and tax returns remain positive, which are important indicators for retail.”
Mr Dillon added that energy costs would remain “a major concern” and stressed the importance of extending energy support “beyond February for both homes and businesses”.
