It came as a surprise to many economists, not least those who have spent the past few months analysing the month- by-month decline of the retail sector.
It came as a surprise to many economists, not least those who have spent the past few months analysing the month- by-month decline of the retail sector.
Despite the economic gloom, sales in our shops are up. The latest figures, released yesterday by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), revealed that like-for-like sales in January rose by 1.1% in comparison to the same period last year.
Look closely at the data, however, and it becomes clear that one sector out-performed all others, and last month helped prop up sales across the entire retail industry - food. Like-for-like food sales values rose by 5.1% in January, while non-food sales fell by 1.6%. Indeed clothing, footwear, homewares and health and beauty sales were all down on 12 months ago.
So why are we spending so much on food in the midst of a recession?
The answer, it seems, is about more than simply higher prices. Indeed, the nation appears to be doing exactly what health experts and TV chefs have been encouraging us to do for years - retreating to the kitchen and cooking for ourselves. Staying in, it seems, really is the new going out.
The BRC figures show the continuing cold winter has driven up sales of casserole meats and roasting joints, sausages and comfort foods. Seasonal root vegetables such as potatoes, swede, parsnips and sprouts are proving far more popular than exotic salads, particularly as shoppers look for value and special offers. Sales of basic groceries and home-baking ingredients were also up, reflecting increased interest in cooking from scratch and the impact of the many celebrity cookery books and TV shows.
The supermarket giants are, unsurprisingly, doing well out of this latest trend, with all the big names including Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco reporting healthy sales figures last month, centred around basic and own brand products. Budget chains Aldi and Lidl, meanwhile, are opening rafts of new stores up and down the country.
But smaller, higher end food retailers are doing well too, as more and more consumers choose to cook at home.
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of food industry experts IGD, said: "Food and drink is holding up well, suggesting an industry that is recession-resistant. It is also highly adaptable and very much in tune with its shoppers, tailoring product offers to their changing needs. Our consumer research demonstrates that shoppers are increasingly price sensitive, with 36% mentioning price as a main driver of product choice today, compared with 29% this time last year.
"But while they are shopping around for the best value, they are not, in general, letting the recession get in the way of enjoying the high standard of food and drink they consume at home. Support for ethical shopping - for example free-range, Fairtrade and local foods - continues to grow. Animal welfare, in particular, is high on shoppers' agendas with one in five (20%) looking for high standards, compared with one in eight (13%) a year ago."
Garry Clark, head of policy at the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, is not surprised that consumers are staying at home.
"These latest figures are extremely interesting," he said. "During downturns people tend to go out less, perhaps choosing to rent a DVD rather than go to the cinema, or buying food and cooking a meal at home instead of dining out, especially during the week. Impulse spending has been hard hit by the current downturn.
"And of course, there are currently various TV programmes, such as Come Dine With Me, and books by top chefs like Gordon Ramsay, which are all about eating and entertaining at home."
Mr Clark believes that consumers still have money to spend, but that businesses need to be more creative if they are to persuade people to part with their cash.
"Although unemployment is rising, there are still plenty of people with disposable income. It's just that they are being more careful about how they spend it.
"Businesses need to be agile in how they respond to this challenge, they need to be adaptable and look for gaps in the market. There are still opportunities out there."
Tony Johnstone, who owns Peckhams, the Glasgow-based upmarket food and drink chain, says his business is currently booming.
"We're seeing rises in sales across the board," said Mr Johnstone, who is about to open four more stores. "Over the last three months our cake sales alone have risen by 30%. Customers are savvy. They see that they can buy freshly prepared food that is just as good quality as they'd get in a restaurant at a fraction of the price, or buy good quality, organic produce and cook for themselves, from scratch, at home.
"We're also seeing a big rise in the number of people coming to our cookery school. People realise that home cooking is better for you, but it is also much cheaper. After all, how much does it cost to make a tasty, nutritious pot of soup? Cooking from scratch is also very rewarding, and something the whole family can appreciate."
