John Lewis and Waitrose both secured double digit sales growth last week, with half-term and Halloween helping the partnership’s chains.

John Lewis returned to double-digit growth with a 12.5% increase, and the chain made a conscious decision to use the half-term peak to push seasonal assortments hard. All areas of fashion were up in double digits, with childrenswear leading the way, up 36%, while home was up 13%.

Buying and brand director Peter Ruis said John Lewis had seen a trend for more adult purchasing for Halloween, with a haunted house tealight holder sellng out. All but three branches reported sales up on the same week last year, with Solihull, Cambridge and Watford showing the best growth, while online sales were up 44.2%. During the week the third John Lewis at Home store opened in Swindon.

At Waitrose sales were up 11.2% on the same week a year ago, and 22.9% on two years ago. Pumpkin sales were described as”very good”, while sausages and seasonal fresh produce did well too, and the Delia Smith advertising campaign continued to help sales of the products featured.

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