Retail businesses have seen an increase to sales in January 2019, bouncing back from a decline over Christmas.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows the quantity of goods sold increased by 1% on the previous month, after falling by 0.7% in December 2018.

January sales provided a boost for many clothing retailers, with textile, clothing and footwear sales showing strong year-on-year growth at 5.5%.

Meanwhile, online sales as a total of all retailing decreased from 19.8% in December 2018 to 18.8% in January 2019.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported similar findings for January, with total retail sales up 2.2% on the year before.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the BRC, said:

"There was a welcome return to growth this month after December's disappointing sales figures.

"But while retail discounts helped tempt cautious consumers, there is no guarantee this momentum will continue after the sales have finished.

"And it will not just be bricks-and-mortar stores looking nervously to the future, as online sales continued to grow below the long-term trend."

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