John Lewis has admitted its sales took a major hit last week as consumers scaled back their spending ahead of Black Friday.
For the week ending November 23, overall sales plunged 28.4% year-on-year, from £380.03million down to £272.20million.
John Lewis alone saw its total sales fall by 43.3% for the week – but the department store insisted performance still exceeded expectations as it prepares for a week of sales, leading right up to Cyber Monday.
For the year-to-date, the partnership said transactions have so far declined 2% year-on-year.
Electrical and home technology sales have plunged almost 60% – while fashion lines dropped 42.4%
Meanwhile, home sales were down 14.7%, with customers continuing to shop for Christmas products with overall festive sales up 5.7%.
Waitrose, however, performed much better, with total sales declining by 1.3% compared to the same period last year.
John Lewis kicked off its Black Friday on November 22, with a big focus on tech and electricals - namely Dyson vaccums.
On November 29, businesses will be offering huge discounts across an entire range of consumer products, from fashion to household appliances and even holidays.
In 2018, UK consumers spent £1.23bn over the Black Friday weekend, beating the money spent during the Christmas sales.
And the spending spree is likely to continue into ' Cyber Monday ', which falls on December 2 and will see further retail discounts.
