Retail sales volumes rose by 3.3% in the year to May, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The annual figure for May was more than double the retail sales volume increase of 1.6% posted in April.
The motor trade is the only sector that has seen a drop-off in the past year, with annual volumes down by 3.7% in May.
However, this fall in volume sales had been anticipated, given that car sales had seen three consecutive years of exceptional growth between 2014 and 2016.
If the motor trade is excluded from the annual figures, retail sales volumes were 7.3% higher in May than they were at the same time last year.
Over the past year the volume of household equipment sold has risen by 12.9%, while the number of books, newspapers, and stationery items sold is up by 10.7%.
The monthly increase in retail sales between April and May was 0.8%.
On the value front, retail sales saw a monthly rise of 0.7% in May, and an annual increase of 0.8%.
Again, when the motor trade is excluded the annual figure is considerably higher, at 4.1%.
Merrion Capital Economist Alan McQuaid said the March retail sales figures were better than expected.
Mr McQuaid said: "Retail sales continue to remain erratic on a monthly basis and are still swinging back and forth, but the underlying trend is positive.
"While most attention has been on robust car sales in the past couple of years, personal spending in other areas has generally picked up over the same period and is becoming more broad-based."
