This week Retail Ireland launched the Retail Ireland Christmas Monitor 2018, which contains analysis of the latest retail sales trends and key statistics in advance of this year’s festive trading period. The monitor looks at different aspects of retail trade and the gives insight to the wider economic conditions impacting the retail sector.

Here are the top 10 headlines from the monitor you need to know:

1. Irish households will spend an average of €2,690 in shops this December, approximately €866 more than any other month of this year and roughly 3% more than Christmas 2017.
2. Total sales will increase by over €150 million, with sales over the Christmas season expected to top €4.65 billion.
3. While consumer sentiment has dipped somewhat in recent weeks, most likely owing to consumer fears around the impact of events such as Brexit, retailers are hopeful that for the next three weeks at least these challenges can be set aside
4. Central Bank statistics show that total e-commerce spend is likely to exceed €16 billion*before year end, a 50% increase since 2015.
5. In September, total e-commerce expenditure rose by 11% year-on-year to €1.5 billion.
6. Online sales growth is now ten times that of traditional bricks and mortar outlets. This staggering rate of growth is showing no sign of declining in 2019.
7. Retail sales in the first ten months of this year are up 2.8% in value terms on the same period in 2017.
8. Gross disposable income was up 4.4% in the first half of 2018, following on from growth of 5.7% in 2017.
9. Overall employment grew by 66,700 in the year to the end of the September 2018. The total number employed is now in excess of 2.27 million, more than at any other time in the history of the State.
10. Consumer goods prices have fallen by 0.8% in the first ten months of 2018 and by 10% since 2013.

According to the Director of Retail Ireland, Tom Burke “retailers are hoping that for the next four weeks at least these challenges can be set aside, and consumers will embrace the festival of shopping that the Christmas season brings. There is no doubt the spending power is there, the challenge now for retailers is to best position themselves over this key trading period to convince consumers to part with that hard-earned cash in their stores and through their various other sales channels.”  To read the full Retail Ireland Christmas Monitor 2018, click here.