Black Friday hits John Lewis’ Christmas sales
He may have been a runaway hit, but not even Monty the Penguin could help John Lewis emulate the success of its Black Friday deals during the Christmas period.
Sales at the retailer fell 1.4 per cent during the week of Christmas, with sales of electrical goods falling 14.7 per cent compared with the same week the year before.
The drop has been attributed to consumers buying their electricals during heavy discounting on Black Friday, rather than waiting for Christmas.
Meanwhile, fashion sales rose 8.1 per cent, while sales on Christmas day itself rose 19 per cent. Orders peaked at 9pm – which, the retailer pointed out, also happened to be the exact time Downton Abbey was on.
Click-and-collect also proved a popular choice for John Lewis shoppers; the number of online orders being collected by customers rose 30 per cent
The company said revenue for the week had hit £126.24m, adding that its post-Christmas sales had started "strongly".
Earlier this week, Next reported sales had risen 2.9 per cent in the run-up to Christmas.