John Lewis has suffered one of its worst weekly sales performances for three years after the high-profile strike by Shell tanker drivers hit the number of shoppers willing to head to stores in regional shopping centres.

The group, one of the strongest chains in the retail sector, reported yesterday that sales across its department stores fell 4.4 per cent in the week to June 14, against the same period a year ago.

Sales at Bluewater plunged nearly 15percent with a 19percent drop at Southampton and a 24.9percent fall in Peterborough.

Barry Matheson, head of selling development at John Lewis, said that concerns about petrol shortages seemed to have hit customer numbers as well as the better weather.

He added there were fresh signs that big ticket items such as sofas and wardrobes were suffering most.

In an update to staff, he said: “Given the almost daily reports of doom and gloom in the economy and housing market, it is perhaps no surprise that our customers appear to be taking a more cautious approach, particularly to major purchases.”

Only three of John Lewis' stores have registered any year-on-year sales increase over the past 20 weeks. Mr Matheson added that the group had also suffered from coming up against comparisons with strong sales in the same week a year ago.

The disappointing figures cast further doubt on data released on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics that claimed that retail sales in May were 3.5percent higher than April - the fastest monthly growth for 22 years.

The figures also marked the latest sign that the spiralling petrol price is forcing shoppers to cut back on trips to out-of-town destinations. Mulberry, the luxury handbag maker, on Thursday said it was starting to see a slowdown at stores in factory outlets.

Petrol prices are more than 20per cent higher than they were a year ago, with the average two-car family spending up to £45 a month more at the pump.

Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at Global Insight, said: “Given that the John Lewis department store sales are a good bellweather for the health of consumer spending, the marked decline in sales in the last week - and the general declining trend in recent weeks - reinforces our belief that the consumer is increasingly struggling.

“Indeed the recent clearly softer trend in John Lewis's sales reinforces doubts as to the reliability of the May retail sales data.

“The John Lewis sales data reinforces our belief that the prospects for consumer spending over the coming months are pretty bleak.”

John Lewis insisted that there were still areas in which it was “excelling”, such as fashion, electricals and home technology. In contrast to the performance at John Lewis, sales at the company's Waitrose supermarkets were up 7.3 per cent in the week to June 14, helped in part, by a new store opening in Buckingham.

Shares in some of the leading retailers fell, with Debenhams ending the day down 9percent or 4p at 44p. Shares in Marks & Spencer, which is running a 20per cent sale for “families and friends” next week, dropped 2.75p to 339p.

Traders said there were growing rumours of fresh insolvencies, with at least two privately owned companies said to be on the brink of administration.

The cost of car insurance has jumped by three times the rate of inflation over the past year and is expected to rise by a further 8.5percent in 2008.

Motorists already struggling with soaring petrol bills had to contend with average premiums increasing from £451 to £488 over the past 12months, the biggest jump for six years, according to Deloitte, the business advisory firm.

Catherine Barton, of Deloitte, said: “For the last year insurers have being trying hard to return motor insurance back to the levels of profitability seen a few years ago by putting through increases on premium rates considerably in excess of inflation.”

Confused.com, the price comparison site, predicts increases of at least 1percent a month for the rest of year.

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