Stores falling into the 'household goods' category saw the biggest year-on-year online sales growth for January 2016 compared with all other retail sectors, up 29.8% on January 2015 according to the Office for National Statistics.
The ONS report, which showed sales growth of 5.2% across the entire UK retail industry year-on-year, highlighted a 0.6% total increase in spend for household goods stores.

The quantity of items bought in household goods stores increased by 3%, with average store prices in this sector falling by 0.3%. Internet sales made up 8.4% of all retailing in this sector.

Department stores, meanwhile, saw an increase of 8% in quantities bought, with average spend up 6.6%. Internet sales also saw a positive leap for department stores, up 28% year-on-year.

Despite prices falling across the entire retail sector for the 19th month in a row, spend was still up 2.4% compared with January 2015. Online sales were also up across the board, showing growth of 10.4% compared with last year, and up 2.7% on December 2015.

As a result, January shoppers spent the most in more than two years in the UK, with the number of goods purchased increasing for the 33rd month in a row.