John Lewis sales soar on record Black Friday

John Lewis enjoyed its largest ever single day's sales as it joined the sector-wide Black Friday promotions.

Boosted by a website that took 4.9 orders per second during its busiest hour of the morning, the group as a whole lifted sales 11.9% on what was already a strong day last year.

The strong level of selling continued over the weekend, where shops on Saturday recorded a 9.3% year-on-year increase.

Analysts said the wider UK retail sector cleared the £1bn sales mark on Friday in both online and store sales, though footfall data for bricks and mortar shops showed a 9.6% year-on-year decline on the day, according to Springboard.

Electronics was a principal contributor to John Lewis' strong sales, with wearable technology such as smart-watches and fitness trackers saw a 932% increase, while the Fitbit tracker saw sales soar 1329% compared to last year and Dyson vacuum cleaners and fans hoovered up 208% more sales than the year before and video gaming enjoyed a 246% increase.

Johnlewis.com reported a record day, with sales peaking between 9-10am and the distribution teams later were processing five units per second during the peak hour.

Other brands to benefit included Barbour and Ted Baker in fashion sales online, while in toys Lego was up 90% on last year online, while in the home section, Sophie Conran's china designs for Portmeirion shattered last year's comparison with a 350% rise, while Le Creuset cookwear was up 179%.

"Black Friday itself marked a record day for John Lewis and strong trade continued into the weekend," said retail director, Mark Lewis.

"On Friday, online trade really stepped forward, while shops saw their biggest increases over the weekend, showing that more than ever customers like to mix and match channels to shop in the most convenient way for them.

“The key story of the weekend was the success of our distribution operations, which have proved that we can manage the highest peaks of demand at Christmas, so that customers can be confident when they shop with John Lewis for their gifts.”