They were helped by strong sales in clothing and footwear, a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed.
The BRC said the value of total retail sales, which includes new floorspace, rose by 4.5 per cent over February 2009, but consumers were "still cautious." About half of this value was due to higher volumes and the rest came from stronger pricing.
Non-food sales were better than average, the BRC said, but food sales slowed after shoppers stocked up for the January snow. Out-of-store sales, accounting for about 6 per cent of non-food items, showed a strong upward trend to reach 15.5 per cent higher than the same period last year.
The 0.7 percent annual fall in retail sales in January was the worst ever reading since the survey began 15 years ago. This is when the UK saw its coldest weather in three decades as heavy snow forced thousands of businesses to close temporarily.
Retailers were also hit by the rise in value-added tax back to 17.5 per cent at the start of the year.
"Despite appearances, these results are not that strong," warned BRC director-general Stephen Robertson. "Consumer confidence is certainly up on this time last year but, with unemployment rising again, spending plans are falling. When the weather-related distortions are stripped away, it is clear customers are still cautious."
