Sales at John Lewis rose 2.3% to £129.2m in Christmas week, a performance which the retailer said was “suppressed” by the timing of clearance.
John Lewis reported that electricals and home technology delivered the best performance in the period to December 26.
The category was ahead 2.8% year on year. Tablets and computing led the way with a 21% advance.
Fashion sales were up 2.7% over the week. Jewellery and watches did well and were ahead 23.3%
The home department edged up 0.7% “driven by exceptionally strong sales in gift food and seasonal items” which climbed 49.2%.
The John Lewis website generated a sales uplift of 25.1% and there was strong customer uptake of the click-and-collect service until late in the week.
John Lewis managing director Andy Street said: “This was a busy week for us. Customers were shopping right until the last moment before Christmas, helped by the extension of our click-and-collect service to Christmas Eve.”
The retailer began clearance online at 5pm on Christmas Eve but in-store it started on Sunday December 28 – a day later than last year.
Online orders climbed almost 18% in the first hour of clearance and the retailer expected “a good week” following the reopening of its shops after Christmas.
Street said: “We are now in the final week of our peak trading period with clearance in full swing across our shops and online and we are seeing customers continue to enjoy our reductions.”
John Lewis will update on its six-week Christmas trading period on January 6.
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