Consumers continue to spend at stores in March

Consumers continued to spend at department stores, supermarkets and petrol stations in March, but held back on buying cars.

Sales at petrol stations rose 39 per cent on year in March, according to latest data by the Department of Statistics.

Supermarkets saw 16.7 per cent more sales, while sales at department stores rose 14.4 per cent compared with the year before.

Other segments that saw healthy sales included furniture and household equipment, telecoms apparatus and computers, and optical goods and books.

However, sales of motor vehicles fell 8.1 per cent in March compared with the same month last year.

Overall, retail sales rose 5.6 per cent in March from a year ago, following a 1.3 per cent fall in February.

But when adjusted for seasonal variations, retail sales actually fell 6.6 per cent in March compared with February. The decline reversed an 8.8 per cent rise in the previous month.

Excluding cars, which have more than a third weighting on the index, retail sales rose 12.5 per cent in March from a year earlier.