Non-food sales declined 3.2% on the month in May, fuel sales were down 2.2%, and sales of food, beverages and tobacco declined 0.5%.
Compared with May 2015, adjusted retail sales grew 15.2%, boosted by 24.3% growth in sales of food, beverages and tobacco, 12.4% growth in sales of non-food items, and 8.9% growth in fuel sales. In unadjusted data, retail sales grew 15.8% on the year in May.
In the first five months, adjusted retail sales grew 16.8% compared with the same period last year, as sales of food, beverages and tobacco grew 25.8%, non-food sales grew 14.8%, and fuel sales grew 9.1%. In unadjusted terms, retail sales were 18.4% higher on the year in January-May.