Sales at John Lewis' department stores fell for the fourth consecutive week, declining by 4.8 per cent, as shoppers grew increasingly concerned about the strength of the British economy.

Revenue at the Partnership's department stores tumbled further from a 0.5 per cent fall in the previous week, "as the financial world news worsened and the sun started to shine", according to the company.

At the same time, a previous 1.9 per cent rise in food sales at the company's Waitrose stores reversed to fall by 0.3 per cent last week.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at Global Insight, said: "This reinforces belief that increasingly hard pressed and worried consumers are economizing by making greater use of discount supermarkets and retailers, as well as by trading down their purchases, through buying more own label brands of goods and food rather than more expensive branded products."

Overall, total sales were down 2.2 per cent to £122.4 million compared with £125.12 million a year ago.

While sales declined, John Lewis said that trade in its new Christmas shop was strong, in particular of linen which rose by 23 per cent. However, Mr Archer said: "The prospects for consumer spending seem pretty bleak, which is particularly worrying for retailers as the vital Christmas period looms."

Shoppers are battling against soaring energy bills, which pushed inflation up from 4.7 per cent to 5.2 per cent in September, while unemployment in the UK is worsening, rising by 164,000 to 1.79 million and is widely expected to increase over the coming months.

Mr Archer said: "On top of this, substantially heightened concerns about the economy and job prospects resulting from the financial crisis is bound to lead to greater consumer caution in their spending."

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