Shoppers shun stores to bask in the sunshine

Despite a surge in demand for sunglasses and outdoor furniture, John Lewis saw an 8.7 per cent fall year-on-year in total sales in the week to last Saturday – its worst performance since freezing temperatures hit revenues at the start of April.

But the decline came in stark contrast to sharply higher sales at the John Lewis Partnership’s supermarket arm Waitrose, which enjoyed another double digit leap in sales as shoppers rushed to stock up on barbecue food and charcoal.

The department store chain’s latest weekly figures showed the effect of the heatwave combined with Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win and England’s victorious first Ashes test match in Nottingham.

John Lewis saw a 13.2 per cent decline in takings in its home department, while fashion was down by 7.3 per cent and electricals by 3.6 per cent.

Total sales stood at £64.15m compared with £70.29m a year earlier.

The only bright spots were in seasonal products such as sunglasses, which saw record sales as they soared by 347 per cent.

Swimwear, linens and sun care also did well. Outdoor homewares were up 127 per cent, while parasols and picnic goods were also in strong demand, as were electric fans and juicers.