After suffering a 4.4% decline in December, Australian retailers breathed a sigh of relief in January as retail sales rose 1.8% for the month.

West Aussies led the charge with a 4.7% month-on-month increase to a record $3.7bn.

Hungry Aussies enjoyed eating out as food retailing had the largest rise in sales for the month, up 2.2% across the country.

While department stores and other retailing also experienced some much needed love post length lockdowns on the east coast.

As the costs of goods and services continue to rise across the board though, the January rise in retail spend may be short lived.