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Shops Expect €130m Hike in Christmas Shopping

A new report carried out by business body Ibec shows that key industry gauges indicate this year will be the best Christmas for shops and businesses since 2008.

Irish shoppers are likely to spend €4.05bn this year, up from €3.92bn in December 2014, it expects. That is an annual rise of over 3.5pc or €130m.

Households will spend an average of €2,450 in the month, Ibec unit Retail Ireland said, approximately €600 more than any other month of the year.

The numbers are contained in its ‘Christmas Monitor 2015’, released today. Increased employment, growing consumer sentiment and rising retail sales indicate that this will be the best Christmas for the retail sector for seven years, the industry survey found.

However, growth will not be shared equally. Some sectors are outperforming others as consumers hunt for bargains, the business body said.

Department stores are seeing a strong pick up in business, driven by increasing sales of menswear and big ticket items such as furniture and televisions, while pharmacies are predicting growth of 4-5pc on sales over Christmas.

But book sales are expected to dip in the sports and entertainment categories compared to last year, when Roy Keane and Brian O’Driscoll released their autobiographies. However, the history and politics sections are expected to do well this year before next year’s 1916 centenary commemorations. Supermarkets are also expected to have a challenging few weeks as price wars continue.

More people are choosing to stay in the Republic to do their shopping, with less people opting to travel north of the border.

Numbers travelling to border towns such as Newry have dropped to 7pc, a quarter of where this figure stood in 2008.

AA Director of Consumer Affairs Conor Faughnan said that the number of shoppers staying at home has increased from 69pc in 2011 to 77pc this year.

The strength of sterling is one of the things putting people off. It is 12pc stronger against the euro now, compared to 2008.

For more on this article, please visit: Irish Independent

Irish Economic Recovery Uneven Across The Country

The latest EY Economic Eye has predicted strong growth this year and next, though it warns the recovery is uneven across the island of Ireland.

The report expects GDP growth of 5.8% in the Republic for 2015, and 4.3% in 2016 on the back of strong consumer spending and investment levels.

However, it states some areas of the country are lagging behind, with urban areas drawing the majority of the activity, while leaving more rural locations with considerably higher unemployment levels.

Urban centres have experienced significantly faster growth than in rural areas, enjoying the highest levels of high value-added employment and resulting economic benefits.

In addition, the increasing pull of city living, particularly amongst young graduates, is further diverging growth from more rural areas.

The report finds that employment continues to grow in the Republic, with 56,000 new jobs created in total in 2015.

Unemployment in Dublin and its commuter-belt in the Mid-East has decreased significantly, falling to 8% and 8.1% as at Q3 2015.

However, other regions lag behind substantially, as they struggle to compete for inward investment and labour, particularly in the South East and Midlands where unemployment is still over 12%.

Growth rates enjoyed this year are projected to moderate in 2016, moving to a healthier, more sustainable range.

EY also forecasts a much slower pace of growth in Northern Ireland, which it says is set to expand by 1.7% this year – down 0.3% from its last forecast during the summer.

Ireland is still on track to outpace all other EU member states in 2015 with regard to economic growth.

For more on this article, please visit: RTE Business News

Government Warned That SMEs Are Being Forced To Take A Cautious Approach To Hiring

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association has welcomed the latest employment figures but has warned the government that SMEs are being forced to take a cautious approach to hiring – due to labour cost uncertainty. The association reminded government that job growth will only come when SMEs know their costs. 

Because of the cost uncertainty, job growth is slowing, with the seasonally adjusted Live Register figure decreasing by 2,200, leaving 330,000 people signing on the dole, ISME claims. Long-term claimants still account for 46.4% of the total. 

For more on this article, please visit: Business World

Research Shows The Irish Are World Leaders For International Online Shopping

A new research carried out by PayPal indicates the Irish are world leaders for international online shopping.

According to the survey, eighty six per cent of Irish internet shoppers (an estimated 1.9 million people) have made overseas purchases in the last 12 months. The average cross-border shopper spent €964 on international online purchases in the last year.

In total, Irish online shoppers will spend an estimated €1.8 billion on products from international websites in 2015 — with an expected growth of sixteen per cent to more than €2 billion in 2016.

Reasons given by online shoppers for their purchases abroad hint at a lack of access to goods online in Ireland – along with unfavourable prices. Seventy eight percent of cross-border shoppers said they shop in other countries to get can get better-priced goods, while seventy three per cent said that they shop abroad to purchase items that are not available on Irish sites.

Much of Ireland’s international online spending is done on UK websites. Out of consumers in 29 markets surveyed, Irish-based online consumers are the most likely to shop on UK sites after UK customers themselves.

With a total estimated spend in the UK in 2015 of €931 million, almost three quarters (74%) of online shoppers made a purchase on a UK site in the past 12 months, compared to an international average of fourteen per cent. A further thirty eight per cent bought an item from the United States in the last year, while twenty six per cent said they purchased a product from a Chinese website.

Despite the high incidence of international online spending, other countries’ eyes are also on Ireland. The UK is Ireland’s biggest export market for online goods, with an estimated 1.3 million British people shopping on Irish websites in the past year.

India and Germany are the next most likely to purchase Irish products, with an estimated 500,000 from each country making online purchases here in the last 12 months. A further estimated 400,000 French people turned to Irish sites to make purchases in the last year.

For more on this article, please visit: Business World

 

Ireland’s Service Sector Grew At It Fastest Rate In 9 Years In The Month Of November

A new survey today shows Ireland’s service sector grew at it fastest rate in nine years in the month of November, with employment, prices charged and new business all expanding strongly.

The Investec Purchasing Managers’ Index of activity in services, which covers businesses for banks to hotels, climbed to 63.6 from 60.1 in October.

It was the highest reading since June 2006. The index last fell below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction in July 2012.

Today’s survey shows that the employment sub-index reached its highest level since the survey began in 2000.

The business expectations sub-index hit its highest level since January 2004, climbing to 80.3 from 76.7, with more than 20 times as many respondents anticipating an increase in activity over the coming year as expecting a contraction.

For more on this article, please visit: RTE Business News

SMEs In The Euro Zone Feel They Have Access To More Credit Than They Need For The First Time Since 2009

According to a new survey carried out by the European Central Bank, small companies in the euro zone feel they have access to more credit than they need for the first time since 2009.

Small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of the euro zone’s economy and mainly rely on bank lending, which the ECB is trying to revive through a large scale asset-purchase programme and low interest rates. The bank is expected to ease its policy further on Thursday.

The survey of 11,226 enterprises, the vast majority of which have fewer than 250 employees, showed more companies reported an increase in the availability of bank loans and overdrafts beyond what they needed in the first half of 2015.

Only 11 per cent of firms said access to finance was their chief problem. Most others chose regulation, competition, cost of production and availability of skilled labour.

For more on this article, please visit: Irish Times