The nation’s retailers reported better-than-expected sales in January, as shoppers armed with holiday gift cards and lured by mild weather returned to stores and malls in search of clearance and spring merchandise. The shopping surge wasn’t expected to last, however, as consumers face higher interest rates, a cooling housing market and high energy costs in the months ahead.

As merchants reported their results Thursday, winners cut across all categories, including discounters like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., wholesale club operators such as Costco Wholesale Corp., teen retailers including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and mid-price and upscale department stores such as Nordstrom Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. Inc.

Topeka-based Payless ShoeSource missed expectations, turning in January same-store sales that were up only 0.8 percent from a year earlier.