Retail trade sales were forecast to have increased by 2.4% y/y‚ according to a survey of leading economists by I-Net Bridge.
Forecasts among the nine economists ranged from growth of 1.2% to 3.4%.
Measured in real terms‚ seasonally adjusted retail trade sales rose by 2.2% in May compared with April following month-on-month changes of -0.4% in April and -1.2 in March.
Nedbank economist Johannes Khosa said: "This is the strongest number we've had since August 2012 but I don't think it will be sustainable since the consumer still faces tough economic conditions."
Meanwhile, Jana le Roux ETM Analytics economist said that the higher figures were a welcome development.
"However‚ it is not sustainable in light of recent fuel increases and the expected slowdown in gross domestic product growth in the second quarter," Le Roux said.
The May 2013 y/y rise was the highest y/y increase since August 2012‚ the month of the Marikana tragedy‚ when retail sales rose by 7.2% y/y.
The main contributors to the 6.2% y/y increase in May were retailers in textiles‚ clothing‚ footwear and leather goods‚ which showed a 12.9% y/y surge after a 5.3% y/y rise in April‚ and general dealers‚ which had a 5.9% y/y gain in May after a 2.0% y/y decline in April.
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