Retail Trade in Ireland — A STUDY OF ITS STRUCTURE AND AN ANALYSIS OF TRADES OVER THE PERIOD 1956/66 By J SEXTON

This paper attempts to identify, from the results of the 1966 Census of Distribution () carried out by the Central Statistics Office during 1967, certain key data which illustrate the important features of retail trade in this country As the title suggests, a study will also be made of trends in retailing over the period 1956-66 by comparing the 1966 Census data with that of the most recent previous Census of Distribution () taken in respect of the year 1956 Before going into any further detail, a brief description of the 1966 Census should help the reader to understand better the various analyses in this paper and view them in proper perspective Cn the retail side (the Census also covered wholesale trade and certain services) its scope and coverage was very similar to that of the previous Censuses () m 1933, 1951 and 1956 Returns were sought from all permanent establishments in the State identifiable as engaging in retail activity However, ancillary trading units maintained by establishments primarily engaged in activities other than distribution were not covered, except insofar as they maintained a separate establishment for that purpose For example, the Census did not cover retail sales by predominantly manufacturing establishments or sales direct off farms For multiple concerns a separate return was sought for each outlet Where retail and wholesale sales or receipts for services m an establishment each exceeded £10,000 a separate return was sought for each part of the business A special register of establishments engaged in distribution or in the service activities covered by the Census was compiled by the enumerators in the course of the 1966 Census of Population All the Census data were collected by means of postal questionnaires which were issued to these establishments early in April 1967 The questionnaires sought information on sales, purchases, stocks, wages and salaries, employment, commodities sold, capital formation and a number of other items Questions on certain characteristics of the actual business such as whether the premises was operated on a self-service basis or not, or whether the proprietor was a member of a voluntary trading organisation, were also asked An intensive follow-up campaign was mounted Three sets of remainders were