John Lewis department store sales up 7.3 percent on electronic sales

LONDON (Reuters) - Retailer John Lewis [JLP.UL] on Tuesday reported a 7.3 percent jump in year-on-year sales at its department store chain for the week to Aug. 6, as customers bought new cameras and wireless headphones for use on their holidays. As the only British retailer to publish weekly sales data, John Lewis provides the most up-to-date snapshot of shopping behaviour that is being monitored closely after Britain voted to leave the European Union on June 23. The data can be clouded by year-on-year weather comparisons and the timing of promotional sales however. John Lewis said warm weather in the week drove demand for fans bought to cool down homes, helping to push up department store sales to 73.7 million pounds, 7.3 percent higher than the same week last year, and accelerating from a 3.4 percent rise the previous week. John Lewis made no mention of the Brexit vote in its brief commentary. At its upmarket grocery chain Waitrose, the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro boosted sales of Brazilian-style steak and Brazilian wine, lifting weekly sales by 2.1 percent. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)