Nervous investors piling into the safe haven of gold jewellery “in uncertain times” helped give a welcome boost retail sales last month, according to latest official figures.
Retail sales volumes rose by a better than expected 1% in February following a surge of 1.4% in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Strong trading in the build up to Valentine’s Day on February 14 is also thought to have helped the high street.
A second month of robust retail sales will raise hope in Government that rising real incomes are starting to persuade consumers to spend again, helping to kick-start economic growth.
Separate ONS figures showed consumers’ real incomes surged 1.9% in the fourth quarter and 4.2% over 2024 as a whole the fastest growth in nine years.
The figures show supermarket sales volumes fell back following a strong rise in January but other categories of shops doing well.
Sales volumes rose by 0.3% over the three months to February and by 2.0% when compared with the three months to February 2024.
But volumes were down by 0.4%, compared with their pre-pandemic level in February 2020.
Sales at non-food stores rose by a healthy 3.1% over the month to their highest level since March 2022.
Household goods stores rose by 6.8%, their largest monthly rise since April 2021, with hardware stores having the largest upward contribution.
Watch and jewellery stores grew strongly over the month with retailers reporting “increased demand for gold because of wider economic uncertainty. “
Clothing store volumes also rose in February 2025, as retailers slashed prices, but did not fully recover from a heavy 2.7% fall in January.
Matt Jeffers, retail strategy and consulting managing director for Accenture in the UK & Ireland said: "Retailers felt the love in February, as Valentine’s Day helped push sales up for a second consecutive month.
“Non food stores, including jewellery, clothing and hardware stores rose strongly, while food volumes bucked the trend and fell over the month. “
Charlie Huggins, manager of the Quality Shares Portfolio at Wealth Club said:
"Retail sales volumes came in better than expected in February. The trends from last month effectively reversed with food sales falling after a very strong January and non-food categories rebounding following last month's weakness.
“These figures, along with yesterday's better-than-expected results from retail bellwether Next, indicate that consumers are still feeling confident enough to spend despite the gloomy economic headlines.
However, in order to get consumers to part with their cash, retailers are having to work harder than ever before. This means increased levels of discounting - a good way to drive sales in the short term, but not necessarily great for profit margins."
