Department store business John Lewis suffered a 14 per cent sales fall last week, it is understood.

The figure, for the week to November 15, was reported by the Daily Telegraph, which quoted the retailer as saying: “The consumer has been well and truly spooked. We have seen a step-change down in sales in the past week.”

Continued tough trading at John Lewis, one of the industry bellwethers, is an ominous indication that dented consumer confidence threatens to undermine Christmas trading.

Pali International analyst Nick Bubb said: “Consumers have gone into hiding. They are frightened of losing their jobs, frightened of not getting credit. The danger is now that you get more and more unplanned promotions. It looks like Christmas is going to be a disaster."

Topics