Sales of non-food products increased 2.9% on the month in January, according to data adjusted for the number of working days and seasonal factors. Sales of food, drinks and tobacco were up 1.9% compared to December, while fuel sales inched 0.2% higher.
In annual terms, adjusted retail sales rose 5% in January, the data showed. Non-food sales rose 9.7% compared to January 2013, while food sales went up 5.3%. Sales of fuels increased 1% on the year in January.
In unadjusted data, retail sales were down 23.8% in January from a month earlier, but up 5.9% compared with the same period of 2013.