British retail sales jumped by the most in almost three years in January as consumers recovered their appetite for spending.
Sales volumes increased by 3.4% from December, much stronger than forecasts with the January’s jump the biggest since April 2021 and followed a 3.3% fall in December
Sales volumes in all areas except clothing stores increased over the month, with food stores such as supermarkets contributing most to the increase.
Some of the fall in December was because of consumers purchasing Christmas gifts earlier, during the November Black Friday discounts. But 46% of surveyed adults still reported plans to spend less on Christmas shopping because of the rising cost of living
