John Lewis sales edge up 1.8% last week
In the week that John Lewis launched its Buster the Boxer Christmas advertising campaign, like-for-like sales grew by 1.8% year-on-year.
The cold weather boosted fashion sales which increased by 4.5%. Fashion accessories was the stand out category with an uplift of 32.6%. School wear also had a good week with sales up 60.7%.
Home sales edged up 0.7% as trade was boosted by strong sales in the filled bedding category. Beds also sold well with sales up 18.8% year-on-year.
In electricals and home technology sales dipped slightly below last year, finishing at 0.1% down on the corresponding week in 2015. The audio and connected home category had a successful week with sales up 12.4% as customers continued to embrace new smart home technologies.
Johnathan Marsh, buying irector for EHT at John Lewis, said: “With our Buster the Boxer advert already viewed over 52 million times and shared over 1 million times on social media, this week we anticipate that our soft toy Buster and friends will continue to prove popular with customers, whilst the advert-themed windows at Oxford Street also drew a crowd over the weekend.”
