Last week, John Lewis sales edged up 3% year-on-year to reach £155.2 million.
Online sales were 15% higher due to visits from mobile devices and traffic to apps, which were 43% up on last year.
The retailer launched its new ‘Kitchen Drawer’ smartphone app which enables customers to access their receipts for both shops and online purchases through their mobile phone.
In the buying offices, the stand-out performer was electricals and home technology with sales up 7.7% on the same week last year. Growth was determined by strong sales in the communication technology category which saw an increase of 30.5%. Other categories with strong sales included gaming, consumer electronics accessories and media streaming devices such as Apple TV and Google Chromecast.
Trade was weaker for fashion with sales falling by 0.4%. Womenswear had a tougher trading week due to the mild weather, but strong performers included jewellery, beauty services and handbags.
Mark Lewis, retail director for John Lewis said: “Despite the mild weather it was a strong gifting week and as we go into the last shopping weekend before Christmas the indication from our customers is that there is still a lot of shopping to be done.
“With Christmas day not until Friday, and all of our online delivery options available well into the coming week, our focus now is on ensuring that our shops and online operations continue to deliver our customers’ Christmas gifts.”
