A disappointing week in John Lewis’ home and electricals categories compounded another week of falling sales for the retailer.

Sales at the department store business totalled £102.03m in the seven days to November 4 – down 3.7% on the same week last year.

Home sales fell 7% and electrical and home technology sales dropped 8.4%. This is despite, the retailer said, mobile phone sales being boosted last week by the launch of the iPhone X.

However, after a difficult month for fashion, this category rallied last week with sales up 4.5% as the colder weather kicked in.

Fragrance also performed well – up 59% versus last year.

Waitrose

Sales at Waitrose slipped 0.6% year on year last week to £135.11m.

The grocer said this was, in part, due to the different timing of promotional activity compared to the same period in 2016.

Total Halloween sales finished 14% up on last year, with Halloween flowers faring particularly well – up 12%.

Across the partnership, sales fell 2% last week to £237.14m.

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