The 0.3 percent increase was led by spending on autos, clothes and gasoline, according to the Commerce Department. The figure followed a 0.4 percent decrease the previous month. Purchases excluding automobiles and gasoline were unchanged.
Excluding automobiles, purchases gained 0.3 percent after a 0.3 percent decline in December.
"Today's report will diminish recession anxieties, but it doesn't dispel them altogether,'' said Richard DeKaser, chief economist at National City Corp. in Cleveland, who accurately forecast the sales gain.
Demand from consumers, whose spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, will probably wane in coming months, forcing the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates further, economists said. Macy's Inc., Target Corp. and Limited Brands Inc. said last week that sales at stores open more than a year declined in January. Macy's cut 2,300 jobs.