Waitrose has once again bolstered the overall weekly sales figures of the John Lewis Partnership, as the sunny spell prompted consumers to flock to the grocery store for picnic supplies.
Weekly sales at the partnership grew 1.6 per cent year-on-year to £206.46 million, with Waitrose on its own clocking sales growth of 3.8 per cent compared to the same week last year.
However, the hot weather worked against the partnership’s eponymous John Lewis division, as sales fell by 2.1 per cent year-on-year.
As warm and dry weather returned and temperatures soared once again by the weekend, Waitrose said sales of its barbecue meat grew 50 per cent compared to the previous year while seafood was up 11 per cent, dressed salads grew by 30 per cent and soft fruit sales rose by 20 per cent.
Summertime drinks also had a strong week as rose sales surged 80 per cent and world beer increased 50 per cent.
At John Lewis, electrical and home technology sales were up 4.3 per cent.
Communications technology products were up 4.8 per cent, driven by sales of mobile phones, which were up 43 per cent year-on-year, and increased demand for tablets.
Sales of electricals were also up four per cent, but largely due to strong sales of fans as customers sought to stay cool in the hot weather.
However, fashion sales were down 2.9 per cent, while beauty, wellbeing and ;eisure sales were up 3.9 per cent and women’s accessories were up 0.4 per cent due to a price matching promotion through John Lewis’ Never Knowingly Undersold policy.
Home sales were down 7.3 per cent, but customers buying products for outdoor dining drove sales of cookshop products up 39 per cent on the same week last year, and sales of outdoor furniture were up 32.2 per cent.
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