OFFICIAL statistics show a modest fall in retail sales last November, with the overall value of sales estimated to be down 0.3 of a percentage point on the previous month.
Data issued by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicate sluggish sales in the run up to what retailers report was a record Christmas season.rise in retail sales in the three months to the end of November compared with the previous quarter.
And, while the end of year out turn is now likely to be well below market expectations of 5 per cent growth, economists believe the latest figures confirm a buoyant trend in retail sales which they predict will have risen by 3 per cent in 1995.
Much of the slowdown in November is thought to be due to a fall off in car sales, which had remained strong throughout 1995.
Household and electrical goods were the biggest sellers throughout November, with the value of furniture sales up by almost 18 per cent on October levels. Electrical goods sales rose 14.2 per cent that month. But sales of hardware and drapery were both down on the previous month.
The latest figures follow some recovery in retail sales in the previous two months. In September, the CSO reported the value of sales up 0.5 of a percentage point, after a slump over the summer months.
