There was a slump in retail sales in March.
Between February and March this year the volume of retail sales fell sharply as the Covid 19 restrictions took effect.
They were down 12.7%, the largest monthly fall since January 2009, according to the Central Statistics Office.
The biggest falls were in bar sales and clothing, which were halved.
Car sales were down almost a third, as were the sale of books, newspapers and stationary.
As our lifestyles changed last month, so did our shopping habits and options.
Supermarket sales were up 14% while food sales and tobacco in specialised stores were up almost a fifth.
Online sales accounted for 4.3% of the total turnover for All Businesses, the highest share since November 2018, when they were first recorded.
