Despite predicted economic cutbacks, particularly over the festive period, the Waitrose supermarket chain has reported a 41% increase in its total sales for the week covering the Christmas trading period.

In the week beginning the 27th December 2008, takings at the chain of supermarkets hit £111.3 million, compared to their £79.2 million in the same period of 2007, despite the fact that people have been cutting back due to the economic slowdown.

John Lewis department store chain and owner of Waitrose, as said that December 23rd was the supermarkets busiest trading day ever.

John Lewis itself also saw a rise in sales during the week leading up to Christmas. Sales in the department stores are recorded to have been up 1.2% from the same week the year before, bringing in approximately £71 million.

Patrick Lewis, the firm’s department store retail director has said that: ‘the pundits who predicted it would come fast and furious in the final week were on the money.’

All 27 John Lewis stores across the UK saw an increase in the sales of clothing by a quarter during the week. Strangely though, on the other hand, sales of home goods declined by 20.5%, and sales of electrical and technology products also fell by 1.2%.

The figures that have been released for both John Lewis and Waitrose stores have included data from stores which have opened in the past year. However, no like-for-like data, which excludes new shop additions, has been released.

This news comes after Waitrose ranked number one in a customer satisfaction survey by Which? magazine this time last year, after it scored 87% in a poll of 77 firms who were rated for convenience, customer service, experience, pricing and products.

Experian, financial data providers, said on Wednesday that visits to UK High Street shops in the final week of December 2008 were up by 12.8% compared with those in the same week in 2007.