Don’t count the American consumer out yet.

In January, consumers drove a 5.3% rise in total U.S. retail sales compared to the prior month, according the United States Department of Commerce.

The jump, which shattered the expectations of Dow Jones economists, who’d forecasted a 1.2% increase, was propelled in part by the $600 federal stimulus checks many households received at the end of December and throughout January to help combat economic hardships wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts said.

Sales increases were recorded across retail categories where promotional products distributors may have clients. Perhaps especially notable, business at bars and restaurants shot up 6.9%. Meanwhile, spending at department stores soared 23.5%, while receipts from electronics and appliance stores grossed 14.7% more than in December. Sales at furniture stores were up 12%. Online spending at non-store retailers surged 11%.

Last month, retail sales reached to a total of $568.2 billion, which represented growth not only over December, but 7.4% annual growth, too. Also encouraging for promo products professionals who are hopeful that a resurgent economy will help stir business: Total retail sales from November 2020 through January 2021 rose 4.6% compared to the same timespan the prior year.

Congress is currently considering passing another coronavirus-driven emergency stimulus package. Proposed by President Joe Biden and called the American Rescue Plan, the package could contain additional direct-to-household cash payments – something that could further drive retail spending in the months ahead.

“The January data suggest that the picture is improving,” Cailin Birch, global economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, told Fox Business. “The stopgap aid bill that was passed by Congress in the final days of 2020, together with the likelihood of a sizeable economic relief package from the Biden administration before the end of March, are likely to be feeding into household confidence, supporting spending.”