Department store chain experiences boost in sales of furniture, lighting and textiles, as well as big ticket items, thanks to increase in footfall as people holiday at home.
John Lewis' sales figures for the week to August 1 experienced a 5.6% increase compared with the same period last year. The company attributed this to "increased footfall as a result of the 'staycation' factor" and shoppers finding the summer weather more unpredictable than they would have liked.

Home sales were also up 10.5% for the seven-day period, with furniture and lighting up 19% and gifts and accessories up 12%. Textiles and carpets also experienced a 9% rise, while bigger ticket items in the sector also performed well, with upholstery up 26%, bedroom up 36% and living and dining up 18%.

The star of the week was John Lewis' online offer, John Lewis Direct, which was up 22.8% compared with the same period last year.

John Lewis director of selling operations, region B, David Barford said of the results: "It's...really encouraging to see, over the past few weeks, some stronger performances against last year. However a note of caution as we start to move into bad-weather comparisons with last year.

He added that he was "confident" with the focus that employees were bringing "to delivering outstanding shopkeeping" and "consistently good customer service".