British retail sales unexpectedly rose by 0.3% in September, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Friday.
A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a monthly fall of 0.3% in sales volumes from August.
British households continue to struggle with higher living costs accelerated by a surge in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Inflation Falling
But the cost of living squeeze on households has slightly eased since then, with inflation falling below 2% from a peak of 11.1% in October 2022.
Recent reports from UK retailers have shown robust foods sales.
Tesco, Britain's biggest grocer, lifted its annual profit forecast and said it was expecting a strong Christmas.
Shoppers Remain Nervous
But consumers have remained reluctant to spend on discretionary items.
The boss of another supermarket chain Sainsbury's, which makes a quarter of its sales in non-food, told Reuters shoppers remained nervous about spending on bigger ticket items before the new government's first budget on 30 October.
Sales growth at British supermarkets picked-up over the last month, helped by consumers starting to make purchases for Christmas, latest industry data showed.
The ONS said telecoms and computers, including the latest iPhone, were the main drivers of non-food sales, with the sectors jumping by almost 35% in monthly terms in September.
Christmas Budgeting
Market researcher NIQ said UK supermarket sales rose 4.7% in the four weeks to 5 October year-on-year, having been up 4.0% in last month's report.
"Many households are now budgeting for Christmas and slowly stocking their cupboards to help spread the cost," Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, said.
The researcher's data, the most up-to-date snapshot of UK consumer behaviour, showed purchases of both Halloween and Christmas products drove sales growth of 0.2% in general merchandise - the first growth in that category in 12 months.
NIQ said shopper visits to supermarkets rose 7.6% year-on-year but average basket value fell 4% to £18.62 (€22.43), reflecting lessening inflation.
Additional reporting from ESM.
