John Lewis & Partners Home sales fell 9.1% during the period however the retailer registered a 26% increase in ‘Off to Uni’ sales making it its “biggest week” for own brand  homeware sales this year.

Despite this the department stores total weekly sales fell 5.5% during the week to September 7.

Fashion sales declined 4.9% compared with a 1.8% increase during the same period the previous year. Electrical and home technology sales were down 3.5% although large electrical sales saw a slight 1.5% uptick.