John Lewis, the department store group, has delivered a rare piece of good news for the high street by revealing a “very welcome” sales revival.

The group, a bellwether of the retail sector, said that sales rose by 3.7 per cent last week, in a stark contrast to a recent run of miserable trading for the business. Sales on Saturday August 2 were up by a "cracking" 18 per cent.

Nat Wakeley, director of selling operations, said that the return to form had been led by back-to-school clothing but added that consumers were also buying white goods, such as washing machines and fridge freezers.

He added: “It was also very reassuring to see the much better score from the out-of-town branches, which have been finding the going more difficult of late.”

Sales at Bluewater, one of the worst performing stores in the John Lewis portfolio in recent weeks, were down only 0.1 per cent in the week.

Mr Wakeley said: “Last week was a very welcome, strong start to the new half year.”

The figures are unlikely to calm fears over the outlook for the high street over the coming months. Analysts believe the consumer spending will remain weak right the way through to Christmas given spiralling energy costs and higher mortgage rates.

John Lewis conceded that sales of homewares fell by nearly 8 per cent in the week, reflecting the continued gloom surrounding the property market as house prices fall.

Waitrose, the John Lewis-owned supermarket chain, recorded a 3 per cent sales rise, which suggests that volumes may have fallen below a year ago, given food price inflation is running at 9.5 per cent.

The British Retail Consortium earlier this week said fresh food prices were up 10.8 per cent on last year, more than twice the official rate of inflation.

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