Target Corp posted a higher quarterly profit as consumers loosened their wallets to spend on items including clothing and electronics.

The discount retailer said profit was $671 million, or 90 cents per share in the fiscal first quarter that ended May 1, compared with $522 million, or 69 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average forecast 86 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Target has benefited from consumers becoming a bit more willing to spend on discretionary items such as clothing and home furnishings.

The company previously said that sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.8 percent in the first quarter.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman, editing by Maureen Bavdek)