Retailers go gingerly into the festive shopping season

John Lewis is managing to buck the gloom elsewhere on the high street with the aid of these Hansel and Gretel-style gingerbread houses which customers design themselves.

Demand for the "Create a Treat" range is running at twice its level a year ago, helping the department store chain ring up sales of £82m last week - 15 per cent up on the previous week and 6 per cent up on last year.

Meanwhile, the research group SPSL said its retail-traffic index for November fell 5 per cent. Perhaps part of the reason is soaring internet sales. Argos said it expected today to be the busiest of the year for online sales, with one million hits on its website alone.