John Lewis has delivered weekly sales up 9.7% as the cold weather drove a “strong seasonal uplift in trade”.
Sister grocer Waitrose also reported a strong week, up 10.6% due to an increase in customer transactions and items sold.
For the week ending October 23, John Lewis said fashion reacted the most to the cooler weather, up 14%. Home and entertainment continued at a steady up 8%.
The department store group also reported the start of Christmas shopping, with Christmas trees closing the week at up 80%.
It said customers were also kitting out for the winter, with sales of outerwear, hats, scarves and gloves all strong. A return to tradition saw sales of Barbour jackets more than double over last year.
Toys surpassed £1m sales a week earlier than last year.
This week John Lewis opened another Home store in Swindon.
Waitrose reported home baking had a good week, with cake mixes and baking mixes up 23% and 17% respectively.Shoppers also stocked up on kitchen and bakeware, with sales up 20%.
The cold weather meant comfort food was on the agenda, with diced stewing beef reporting sales up 500%.
And sales of Halloween spooky accessories were up 53% in readiness for this weekend’s parties.
Overall, the John Lewis Partnership reported sales up 10.2% for the week.
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