Retailers report boost in sales of garden furniture, barbecues and ice cream

Soaring temperatures are warming up the economy, with sentiment surveys showing a huge jump in consumer confidence, and businesses boasting increased sales.

Armed with weather forecasts from Met Éireann, retailers have been boosting revenues by stocking up on salads, sun cream, barbecue paraphernalia and beer.

Retail Excellence Ireland chief executive David Fitzsimons said food stores, garden and DIY centres, shoe shops and clothes stores were the biggest winners by far, cashing in on bumper sales of summer goods.

“Initially people don’t shop; they are too busy out enjoying the sun. But as the good weather continues, people start planning barbecues, buying summer clothes, stocking up on sun cream etc.”

SuperValu reports a 90 per cent increase in ice cream sales since Sunday, with sales projected to increase by 150 per cent by the end of the week. It said barbecue meat orders were up 300 per cent this week, while the sale of burger buns has more than doubled.

Woodies DIY also reported increased sales, with more than 8,000 bags of charcoal and 3,500 instant barbecues flying off the stores’’ shelves last week.

The blue skies and hot sun also brought good news for Dingle-based artisan food company Murphy’s Ice Cream.

Director Kieran Murphy said sales have soared along with temperatures. “I’d say our sales are 30 per cent higher this week than they were the same time last year. June was also very good for us. Sales were probably 20 per cent higher than last year.”

However, he said that, despite increased sales and a positive mood of consumers, there was a downside.

“The choc-chips we put into our ice-cream keep melting. We’re finding it very difficult getting it to set.”

President of the Irish Hotels Federation Michael Vaughan said hotels and guesthouses had received a huge boost as a result of the fine weather.

“It’s almost impossible to get a room along the coast at the weekend.

“People seem to be abandoning the normal rules. If the weather is very good on a Sunday, they’ll stay down at the beach an extra night.”

Mr Vaughan, who owns the Vaughan Lodge Hotel in Lahinch, Co Clare, said there had been a 30 per cent increase in enquiries as a result of the weather.

“Some people who had booked foreign holidays are also deciding to take a few days in Ireland to make the most of the sun.”

He said the only downside was a poor uptake on formal dining. “Anyone who does a barbecue is doing a roaring trade. People don’t want formal dining. They want pub food and outdoor seating.”

Eamonn McKeon, chief executive of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, said the heatwave would boost the economy by an additional €1 million every day the sun is out.

“I’m not an economic forecaster and it’s very difficult to quantify the monetary boost to the economy for every day of sunshine, but I’d say it will bring an additional €1 million a day, at least.”

He said the weather would give tourists a very good view of Ireland which would hopefully have a beneficial result.

“Visitors to Ireland will go back home with very good stories and experiences as a result of all the good weather. Hopefully they will tell all their friends and family who will then want to visit.”

He added that, as well as boosting sales of cold drinks, sun cream and after-sun, the weather would also be good for businesses at seaside resorts.

“The likes of Killarney will always be busy as a tourist hotspot. The sunny weather however brings money to the lesser known resorts such as Rosses Point and Strandhill in Sligo.”

“The good weather boosts consumer confidence and when people’s confidence is higher they spend more and get out more,” he added.

The KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index, which was published yesterday, saw a huge jump in sentiment for June, which it attributed to the good weather.

“Our initial findings suggest that when sunshine is more than 40 per cent above or below the norm for a particular month the sentiment survey is accordingly positively or negatively affected,” KBC Ireland chief economist Austin Hughes said.

He said prolonged spells of good weather seem to lift the mood of the Irish consumer, with the index jumping from 61.2 in May to 70.6 in June.

While the current hot spell presents a golden opportunity for some businesses it can seem like a curse for others.

Leisure businesses such as cinemas, which thrive in the cold weather, do less well during a heatwave.

Paul Anderson, managing director of the Omniplex cinema group, said he had noticed a decline in ticket sales by as much as 50 per cent.