Christmas Shop and gifting across all directorates signalled that the festive season is now front of mind for John Lewis' customers.
After passing the £100m mark last week, this week saw sales of £114.2m, up +2.1% on last year and +5.0% week on week. Online sales were +13.4% year on year. The uplift came despite a challenging comparison against strong iPad sales from last year's launches and a return to unseasonably mild weather during the week. However, increases in Christmas Shop and gifting across all directorates signalled that the festive season is now front of mind for customers.
Home sales were John Lewis' strongest category of the week at +5.0% year on year, driven by seasonal items such as baubles, decorations and tree lights. The week's stand-out products were Christmas hampers at +70%, Christmas trees at +24%, and confectionery advent calendars +42%, all compared to the same week last year. Outside of the Christmas Shop gifting was also popular in the home directorate with candles up +15% year on year.
Mark Lewis, online director, John Lewis, says: "It was pleasing to see sales surpass the £100m mark for the second consecutive week. Looking ahead to Black Friday, we're hard at work behind the scenes to ensure that our shops, distribution network and johnlewis.com are ready to meet increased demand and offer the high levels of customer service our customers expect. In a busy retail market, our Never Knowingly Undersold commitment means that customers can be reassured that they will get the best possible prices together with our market leading guarantees on electrical."
