In March 2018, the value and volume of retail trade continued to grow at a modest pace, both increasing by 2.9% compared with March 2017.

The 3 months to March (Quarter 1) shows a decrease of 0.3% in terms of value and volume; the second consecutive fall in the quarterly movement.

Month-on-month, the value of retail trade was estimated to have fallen by 0.2%, while the quantity sold dropped by 0.6%.

In March 2018, internet sales and small scale distribution saw a contraction when compared with March 2017 (respectively -0.3% and -1.3%), while large scale distribution saw a strong growth year-on-year (+7.0%).