John Lewis overcame the wet weather to record a 3.3% year-on-year rise in sales to £65.8m last week.
The stormy weather and Tube strike in London hit footfall and sales were down in all but 14 of its 40 shops.
Its High Wycombe shop defied the conditions to record 22.1% sales growth while Ipswich was the worst performer, suffering a 12.6% fall in sales.
Online sales rose 17.7% as shoppers opted to stay indoors.
The department store reported electricals and home technology sales rose 5.4% driven by audio and small electrical products.
Fashion sales increased by 2.5% on last year as childrenswear sales rose 8%. Home sales rose 1.9% with the textiles and carpets department up 2.7% on last year. Lighting also performed strongly with a 12% lift in sales.
John Lewis’ director of selling for London and the south David Barford said: “The weather continues to be very unsettled and Valentine’s Day is upon us, but as we go into half term the opportunities are there for us to continue to grow our trade across all our channels.”
Waitrose sales rose 5.8% to £118.3m as shoppers sought out Valentine’s products in the run-up to the big event today.
Waitrose’s champagne sales were up by 30% last week and sparkling wine rose 18%. Valentine’s card sales were up 10% and chocolate up 14%.
Sales of teeth whitening products rose 40% ahead of all important Valentine’s dates.
Waitrose online sales rose 87% on last year as its etail arm continued to grow rapidly.
Waitrose finance director Tom Athron said: “With the gloomy weather continuing across the country many people are choosing warming and comforting options. Frozen chip sales were up by 29% for the week, and family staples such as fish fingers and fish cakes were up by 11% and 26% respectively.”
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