High street sales in the Britain were higher than expected in November to the relief of shopkeepers.
Retail sales rose 0.6 per cent on the month against expectations of a modest rise of 0.1 per cent and after two straight months of falls.
October's 0.4 per cent fall was revised down slightly to a drop of 0.5 per cent.
That brought the annual rate of growth in sales up to 6.1 per cent, showing that consumers were hitting the shops in force running into Christmas.
Internet retailers showed strong growth on a year ago while mail order sales were down, the ONS also said.
Christmas is the time of year when many retailers rake in a large sum of their yearly sales.
The three-month on three month rate of growth in retail sales, which is a better gauge of the trend, was up 1.3 per cent, higher than the 1.2 per cent previously.
But in a sign that price competition is still tough on the High Street, the retail sales deflator slipped to -1.5 per cent on the year in November from -1.4 per cent.
Household goods and clothing and footwear saw particularly large price falls in November, the ONS said.
November's monthly sales increase was driven particularly by household goods stores, clothing and footwear stores and food stores, the ONS said.
