Jennifer Lawrence stars in the Miss Dior Handbag campaign. Christian Dior SA, parent company of the Dior fashion house and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported a 14 per cent on-year rise in sales to EUR 22.81 billion in the nine months to the end of January. Sales of Christian Dior Couture rose 19 per cent to EUR 971 million in the nine months from 1 May 2012 to 31 January, while Dior continue to expand its retail network, growing by 24 per cent for the period and boosted by all product categories.

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A survey by Barclaycard found shoppers spent 12.8 per cent more online in 2012, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all retail transactions. Department stores proved to be one of the biggest areas for growth in online shopping, rising 37 per cent online, with John Lewis recording its best web year to date.

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A surge in sales of chocolate boxes helped Thorntons see in a profitable new year, but a decline in like-for-like store sales suggests the retailer isn’t out of danger yet. Commercial sales grew 26.4 per cent to £34.7 million in the 14 weeks to 12 January, against a 1.3 per cent decline in like-for-like sales across its store operations.

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Tesco on Thursday reported a 1.8 per cent rise in sales for the run up to Christmas, its strongest UK growth in three years, after the retailer stepped up its game for the festive season. The nation’s largest retailer said sales excluding new store openings, VAT and petrol grew 1.8 per cent in the six weeks to 5 January, compared with the same time a year before.

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The high street may only be closed for one day, but Christmas Day is fast becoming one of the busiest days in online retail as shoppers make last-minute purchases and impulse buys. Amazon UK has reported a 263 per cent rise in Christmas Day sales over the last five years, with this year expected to be its busiest 25 December to date, thanks to the growth in tablets and smartphones.

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There might be a few days to go before the Christmas festivities kick-off, but John Lewis will already have plenty to celebrate after revealing its best ever sales total of £142 million year-on-year in the week to 8 December. The result was up 15 per cent from the same week a year before, as the department store’s online operations achieved a record day with sales up 46 per cent on ‘Mega Monday’.

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Retail sales were 2.5 per cent higher year-on-year for September, according to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday. Purchases of new clothing collections and school uniforms, tied into a shift in colder weather gave clothing and footwear sales a 2.0 per cent rise for the month.

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The UK’s fourth largest supermarket saw rivals Asda and Sainsbury’s make gains on its all-too-important market share over summer. In the 12 weeks to 2 September, Morrisons’ market share fell 11.5 per cent from 11.7 per cent a year earlier, while Asda and Sainsbury’s each posted gains of 4.5 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively during the period.

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Gap Inc. on Thursday said it would raise its full-year profit guidance after seeing a 29 per cent increase in second-quarter income. The US retailer of Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta brands earned USD 243 million, or 49 cents a share, for the three months to 28 July.

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Every little counts: a 0.3 per cent rise in retail sales for July brings some much needed good news for the UK retail industry. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday reported sales volumes in the month rose 2.8 per cent compared with the year before. Analysts had forecast a fall in sales for the period.

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