JOHN LEWIS has lifted hopes of a buoyant festive period for retailers after reporting a 13 per cent rise in like-for-like sales.
In the first Christmas trading update from the sector, the department store chain reported sales of £684.8 million for the five weeks to 29 December, thanks to a last-minute rush before the holidays and a milestone online performance.
Total sales rose 14.8 per cent in the period, with extra trade coming from four new stores opened during 2012.
The employee-owned retailer also suggested the clearance season got off to an encouraging start after total sales lifted 11.5 per cent in the first five trading days after Christmas, with a record £31.7m on 27 December.
John Lewis said online sales in particular helped boost figures, with johnlewis.com breaking through the £800m barrier during December after a 44 per cent year-on-year rise in sales. Internet sales now account for a quarter of all revenues, according to the group.
The figures marked the start of a busy reporting period for retailers, with fashion chain Next due to publish its festive trading update today.
High street bellwether Marks & Spencer reports next week, with supermarkets Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco also revealing how well they fared.
The figures from John Lewis reinforce expectations that the sector enjoyed a late pick-up in sales, but experts are predicting a mixed performance.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said it was also likely that consumer spending has waned after a strong start to the clearance sales.
He said: “We suspect that people are being careful in buying items that they don’t really want or need in the sales. If this is the case, interest in the sales could fall away pretty quickly once the best of the bargains have gone.”