“However, clothing shops and household goods stores had less of a successful month with retailers reporting lacklustre sales due to weak consumer confidence.
ONS Senior Statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “Retail sales rebounded strongly in January following four months of consecutive falls.
Aled Patchett, head of retail and consumer goods at Lloyds, said: “Today’s rise offers a welcome boost to the sector and underlines the work businesses have undertaken to successfully navigate a tough trading environment.
Online sales also grew strongly with a 2.4% gain, but the rest of the high street was weaker with sales down 1.3%.
Retail sales bounced back strongly in January with a 1.7% rise after the sector suffered a lacklustre Christmas.
