Sales at John Lewis department stores are down for the fourth week in a row, with year-on-year growth declining by 4.7 per cent.

The chain is often used by analysts as a barometer to measure high street economic health, so the run of negative sales growth spells trouble for retailers.

All the chain’s major branches reported a decline in sales for the week, with the exception of stores at Oxford Street and Aberdeen.

Sales at John Lewis Direct, the company’s online arm, were more encouraging with an increase of 23 per cent – although this was down on the 32 per cent reported a week earlier.

The significantly higher growth in internet sales echoes a recent report from retail analysts Verdict Research, which found the amount of money spent by consumers shopping online increased by 35 per cent to £14.7 billion last year.

In a statement, John Lewis said despite a challenging economic background, “there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic over the coming weeks”.

Sales increased 9.5 per cent from the previous week, as last week coincided with half term.

“The John Lewis department store sales are generally seen as a good bellwether for the health of consumer spending,” Howard Archer of Global Insight said.

“John Lewis looked to put a positive spin on the data by noting that the comparison was against a strong performance in the corresponding period a year earlier and reporting that sales were up 9.5 per cent compared to the previous week,” Mr Archer added.

“Even allowing for this though, the recent underlying trend in sales is undeniably weaker and it adds to the mounting evidence that the consumer is now increasingly reining in his/her spending – either out of choice or out of necessity – in the face of serious pressures.”

Consumer confidence is at an 18-year low, according to the latest GfK/NOP survey, signalling shoppers are cautious about spending in the current economic climate.