Proactive Investors - Retail sales in January increased 3.4% month on month in January, smashing the 1.5% forecast thanks to a stellar performance in the supermarket sector.
Within non-food, trade at department stores and other non-food stores, such as sports equipment stores, rose by 5.4% and 6.2% respectively.
Household goods stores rose by 1.8%, mainly due to sales in hardware stores, while automotive fuel sales jumped by 5.4%, helped by falling fuel costs.
Clothing was the only black spot, with month-on-month sales falling by 1.4%.
Heather Bovill, deputy director for surveys and economic indicators at the ONS, commented: “After a very weak December, retail sales rebounded in January with the largest monthly rise since April 2021.
“This means that overall sales have now recovered to pre-December levels, although if we look at the broader picture, they are still below where they were pre-pandemic.
“Sales increased across nearly all retail sectors, and it was a particularly strong month for supermarkets.
Household goods stores, sports shops and department store retailers were amongst those reporting robust trading due to January sales promotions.
A fall in prices at the pump also meant a solid month for fuel sales.
This news offers some respite from the gloom surrounding Thursday's gross domestic product (GDP) print, which showed the UK slipping into a technical recession in the final quarter of 2023.