Sales at John Lewis and Waitrose soared in the week to September 22 thanks to The Great British Bake Off effect.

Sales at John Lewis jumped 14.2% in the week driven by soaring electricals, home and technology sales.

The Great British Bake Off fuelled sales of food mixers, which were up 48% year-on-year.

The cooking show also powered Waitrose sales, which jumped 8.1% on last year.

Waitrose supply chain director Dave Jones said: ”The ever-increasing popularity of the BBC2 series continues to inspire a nation of cake makers. Overall bakery sales have risen by 5.7% and egg sales up a cracking 8.6%.”

Cake coverings and decorations soared 46.1%, cake mixes are up 46.9% and cooking chocolate 40.4%.

Jones said: “Even those who aren’t rolling out and whipping up their own creations are still having their tastebuds tempted - as demonstrated by the sales of frozen strudels. Ready-made versions of the technically complex dessert, which were the subject of last week’s show stopper, were up by 56%.

At John Lewis, fashion sales were up 13.9% and new line ‘Somerset’ by Alice Temperley “continues to delight”, according to the department store.

The back-to-school trade has continued to drive strong kidswear sales, which increased 17.1%.

Home-delivered sales were up 7.1% on last year as it said its new range ‘House by John Lewis’ continued to grow in popularity, up 7% week-on-week.

The retailer’s website sales jumped 39.8% year-on-year over the week, with autumn seasonal product lines such as outerwear, knitwear and Uggs driving sales. John Lewis also revealed that consumers are already gearing up for the festive season.

John Lewis head of omnichannel development Karen Dracou said: ”The most popular search on Johnlewis.com last week was for ‘Christmas’, so customer demand for festive products is clearly on the increase.”

Treats were the order of the day at Waitrose, where scone sales leapt 90% while crumpets and muffins are up 27% over the week. Biscuits sales jumped by 10%, confectionery sales by 17% and desserts by 18%.

The change in weather had an influence in sales, with a move towards food and drink associated with the year’s colder months. Waitrose’s Easy To Cook range had a 67% increase in sales and Meal Solutions a 11.5% rise, boosted by its £10 Meal Deal.

Spirits sales were at their highest since the Queen’s Jubilee with blended whisky sales up 32% and brandies up an incredible 60%.

Meanwhile, the grocer’s online sales soared 37.4% over the week.

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