People wait for a Foot Locker store to open as non-essential shops are allowed to reopen after England’s second lockdown ended at midnight, on Oxford Street, in London on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. Matt Dunham/Associated Press file

Foot Locker shares jumped as much as 18% Friday, the most since August, after the athletic retailer posted third-quarter results that show high shopper demand despite inflation pressure.

Comparable sales edged up 0.8%, well ahead of analyst estimates for a 5.9% decline. Though revenue fell 0.7% to $2.17 billion, it also beat expectations.

“Despite the tough environment, our expanding customer base remained resilient,” Chief Executive Officer Mary Dillon said in a statement.

Shoppers are pulling back on their discretionary spending as the cost of essentials like food and housing has sharply increased. Foot Locker is in the process of revamping its assortment of merchandise as Nike Inc. shifts its products away from retailers. And Foot Locker expects a $50 million fourth-quarter impact from no longer selling Adidas’s Yeezy merchandise after Adidas ended its partnership with Ye.

Still, Dillon said on the Friday earnings call that brands like New Balance; On, the Swiss fitness brand; and Hoka are appealing to existing customers and are attracting new ones.

Merchandise inventory rose 29.5% for the quarter, reaching $1.69 billion. Analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg called for a 9.3% increase to $1.42 billion. Foot Locker raised its fourth-quarter and full-year outlook based on the company’s “inventory position in high-quality product” as well as “strong momentum” for the holiday season, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Page said in the statement. The company expects to end the fourth quarter with inventory up in the 30% range as well.

Foot Locker shares were up 7.2% to $35.39 at 11:16 a.m. in New York. The stock was down 24% this year through Thursday, deeper than the 17% decline of the S&P 500 Index.