Department store group John Lewis reported that not only did online sales at johnlewis.com manage a second successive record week in the seven days to December 10, with sales 20 per cent up on last year, but that click and collect grew by 72 per cent.

It “has clearly become the delivery method of choice for many customers, driving footfall back into John Lewis and Waitrose,” said the store group’s head of multi channel Simon Russell.

The week was less exciting for the group as a whole, with total sales, excluding VAT, up by 0.2 per cent on a year ago.

The performance of electricals and home technology products largely matched that of last year recording a rise of just 0.5 per cent, with tablets and ebooks as the stand-out items.