Retail sales figures rose in May, the fourth time in five months and an improvement over a dismal April report, Statistics Canada said today.

Retailers sold $28.6 billion worth of goods and services in May, an increase of 0.5% from April, when sales fell by 0.8%. The increase in May marked the fourth such rise in the first five months of 2004. It also represented a fairly broad-based increase in sales.

Food and beverages stores, which have seen volatile figures this year, saw the largest increases by far, with a 2.2% rise in sales.

Furniture and other home furnishings plus electronics also recorded strong sales, with a 1% increase.

Building and outdoor home supplies stores saw more moderate increases, rising by 0.6% while automotive sector rose by 0.4% — entirely driven by higher gasoline prices.

Slightly slower were sales at pharmacies and personal care stores, up by 0.3% in May.

Auto showrooms actually saw a drop in May’s sales figures.

Clothing, sporting goods, books and music stores also saw declines in May sales.

“Looking past the helping hand of much higher service station receipts, retail sales were soft in May, partly due to cool and wet weather, and partly due to a pullback in autos. However, even with the sub-par reading for the volume of sales, we still expect Thursday’s GDP report for May to post a 0.3% rise, enough to keep growth for the full quarter at just over a 4% annual pace,” said BMO Nesbitt Burns chief economist, Sherry Cooper, in a written commentary.