John Lewis sales down 2.6% last week
In the week before Black Friday, the John Lewis department store chain saw its sales decrease by 2.6% year-on-year.
The retailer attributed last week’s fall to shoppers waiting for Black Friday deals to do much of their gift buying and said it will have thousands of price reductions in place for the big shopping day through its Never Knowingly Undersold commitment and own offers.
Last week saw home sales rise by 0.6% boosted by a 3.2% increase in sales of furniture and a 1.8% uplift in sales of home accessories and gifts. The retailer said its Buster the Boxer merchandise from its Christmas advertising campaign was popular with customers.
In electricals and home technology, where shoppers expect to see the biggest Black Friday deals, sales were down 8.2%.
Meanwhile, fashion sales fell by 0.4% despite strong performances from womenswear and childrenswear.
