John Lewis & Partners has posted an uplift in sales as the first full week of its Clearance Sale drove its top line.

The department store business registered a 3.3% increase in sales during the seven days to January 4, in comparison to the same period last year.

Fashion sales led the charge, jumping 6.4% year on year. Womenswear sales rose 10% and womenswear accessories had a 22.6% uptick.

John Lewis’ menswear sales grew at a slower rate of 2.5%.

The electricals and home technology category also grew strongly, with revenues rising 4.4%. Personal care and smart home products proved particularly popular with shoppers, helping electricals sales climb 6.8%.

Those uplifts were dampened by a 0.5% dip in sales of homewares, despite a 3.4% uplift in sales of gifts, cooking and dining products during the week.

Sales at sister retailer Waitrose edged up just 0.5% across the seven-day period, as a 6.3% slump in home and general sales offset gains in ambient and core chilled, fresh and frozen categories.

Ambient sales were up 1.1% during the week, while chilled, fruit, vegetables, bakery, meat, fish, frozen and dairy sales inched up 0.4%.

Waitrose said sales of Champagne and sparkling wine advanced 25% and 24% respectively, while sales of English wine almost trebled year on year.

Revenues from low- and non-alcohol products jumped 27% as customers leant into Dry January.

Across the John Lewis Partnership, total sales climbed 1.8% year on year to £242m.

The department store and grocery group will unveil its festive trading figures covering the wider seven-week Christmas period on Thursday.

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