John Lewis continues to perform well despite the snow

In the week to 18 December, John Lewis reported a record weekly performance, with its second-best sales to date and marking only the second time the group has turned over £120m in a week, despite the sales freeze due to the cold weather.

However, the increases have stalled a little in the four days prior to Christmas – to the end of Wednesday 22 December, sales were up 4.3% up compared to last year.

John Lewis came fourth in a satisfaction poll of all online retailers earlier this week.

Andrew Murphy, retail director for John Lewis, said traffic had moved back from online to the shops, as the last days for Christmas deliveries had passed and shopping was now last-minute.

He said: "Despite the continuing challenges from the weather in some areas of the country, this week has seen a pleasing uplift in in-store sales and continued strong performance online.

"In particular, last-minute purchases in lingerie, beauty, jewellery and watches have been very popular with male customers – no doubt reassured by our no-quibble approach to returns in the event that their judgement is still slightly out."

John Lewis shops close at 5pm on Christmas Eve and will re-open on 27 December, with their biggest sale event on record.

Of all the major retailers, only Marks & Spencer will have stores open on Christmas Day, with 131 stores operating at franchise spots at airports and BP petrol stations. A spokesman expected Christmas Day to be very busy online.

He said: "Online, Christmas Day is one of our busiest online trading days of the year. Last year Christmas Day was our fastest-ever 'sale' day online, with an order being placed every 1.7 seconds."

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk