Retail sales volumes fell 3.4 per cent last month as consumers tightened their belts following Christmas, new figures show.

On an annual basis, the volume of sales increased 3.7 per cent compared with January 2019.

If car sales are excluded, the volume of retail sales fell by 1.8 per cent in January but was up 2.9 per cent compared with the same month a year earlier.

There was a 1.4 per cent decline in the value of sales on a monthly basis but a 3.5 per cent annual increase in January.

Car sales fell 11 per cent in volume terms in January, the highest decline witnessed across the segments monitored by the Central Statistics Office.

Recent figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show new car sales were down 3.5 per cent January while used car imports declined 26.4 per cent decline compared with January 2019.

If car sales are excluded, the value of retail sales fell by 1.2 per cent last month but were up 2.1 per cent on an annual basis.