Rain, and even hail in some parts of the UK, led to a 9.7% increase in cooking and dining ranges, as consumers chose to eat indoors.
The wet weather also boosted sales at John Lewis' London Peter Jones store, which benefited from a surge of custom during the frequent downpours in the week ended May 28.

Home categories gave the best performance, with cookshop up 8.6%, benefiting from promotional activity and John Lewis' Never Knowingly Undersold policy.

Home accessories and gifts were up 13%, with new ranges being received well by customers. Bed and bath lines ranges saw double-figure increases, helped by price matching policies.

Despite this impressive performance, overall sales were just shy of last year's figures, down 0.8% against a week of good weather, which resulted in a 23.6% increase in 2010.