An increase in Valentine’s Day gift-buying brought relief for retailers last month amid February’s “grey days”, as consumers held back from spending on big-ticket items, according to industry figures.

Jewellery purchases linked to Valentine’s Day were one of the highlights of an otherwise lacklustre month when sales inched ahead, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.

The enduring demand for health and beauty products and technology, including tablets, computers and mobile phones, offset falls in clothing and footwear, the industry body said.

Total UK retail sales increased by 1.1% year on year in February, above the 12-month average growth of 0.8%, the BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor found.

Linda Ellett, the UK head of consumer, retail and leisure at KPMG, said: “Nervousness about the economy is deferring big-ticket purchasing, but occasions and offers are still tempting shoppers into some impulsive spending.

“Valentine’s, for example, brought a jewellery sales boost to the high street in what was otherwise a flat month for in-store buying.”

Retailers were on course for further improvements in sales volumes through the spring after consumer confidence figures showed a more buoyant outlook in February after what the pollsters YouGov described as a “shaky start” to the year in January.

According to the YouGov/Cebr consumer confidence index, households were upbeat, pushing the index from 111.1 to 112.5, where a figure above 100 indicates positive sentiment.

The index has climbed steadily over the past 18 months in line with a fall in inflation and a rise in disposable incomes.

YouGov said the UK was in “a better mood than it was in January” and workers reported “improvements in business activity”.

Food sales were up 2.3% on a year ago, but this represented a drop from growth of 5.6% in February last year and below the 12-month average growth of 2.8%, the BRC said. Non-food sales recovered from a 2.7% decline a year ago to register flat sales.

Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, said: “Retail sales saw more modest growth in February. While sales growth across non-food categories was generally muted, it was propped up by online purchases, particularly in computing and electronics.”

Dickinson said watches and fragrances also sold well thanks to Valentine’s Day, reversing declines last year.

She blamed the cold weather last month for a poor showing by the fashion industry, but retailers were hopeful the early March sunshine would “kickstart spending on spring and summer wardrobes”.

Separate figures from Barclays showed that card spending grew 1% year on year in February – lower than January’s 1.9% increase – as consumers cut back in anticipation of higher council tax and utility bills.

However, confidence in household finances reached 75%, the highest level Barclays has recorded since it started tracking the measure in 2015 and up from 70% in January.

ManpowerGroup, the employment agency, said several industrial sectors were beginning to hire new staff after months of putting job offers on hold. It said the transport and logistics, defence and public sectors were “bucking the hiring trend while other sectors hold back”.

A survey of employers found that 42% expected to maintain the same number of workers in the second quarter of this year, while planned hiring was down by 27% from the previous quarter.

Michael Stull, the group’s managing director, said a hiring recession would remain until the summer, but apush from property and industrial companies to hire more staff meant there was an optimistic outlook.