Poor weather, the introduction of a local property tax and industrial relations uncertainty combined to keep retail sales in the doldrums during the first part of the year, according to Retail Excellence Ireland (REI).
In its quarterly barometer, the retail lobby group said overall sales across the sector “continued to disappoint” despite a promising start to the year.
The worst-performing sector was garden centres which saw sales drop by more than 5 per cent as a result of the prolonged cold snap in March.
Photography and camera equipment, footwear and ladies fashion were also hit with sales declining by 14 per cent , 5.2 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively.
The bad weather did, however, result in a 6.6 per cent rise in sales of hot beverages.
Pharmacy sales also fell by 4.5 per cent during the quarter on the back of a fall in the average price of medicines .
The best-performing sector during the quarter was home appliances which a recorded a 18 per cent jump in sales assisted by trading-up and the continued growth of coffee makers and food preparation sales.
Consumers also traded-up in personal computer categories over the quarter leading to a 6.2 per cent jump in IT sales.
The March Easter bank holiday weekend, which was in April last year, positively impacted on gift and homeware sales which were up 5.48 per cent in March.
The opposite was the case for furniture and flooring which saw sales decline by 6 per cent on a monthly basis.
Grocery sales traded relatively well, and Easter contributed to a reasonable March, the group said, despite overall sales being down 1.7 per cent for the quarter.
The REI said the introduction of a property tax and the potential for industrial relations disputes contributed to “a bleak outlook” for the sector as a whole.
Chief executive David Fitzsimons said: "Q1 2013 proved to be a period of mixed fortunes. The quarter commenced with a robust January, a weaker February and a very poor March."
“Inclement weather, constant commentary regarding property tax and bank holiday weekends undermined trading performance in March for most sectors.”
