Predictions of the death of the high street have been "overstated", John Lewis has said, as it announced its proportion of sales being made online has fallen and store visits are up.
The department store chain's commercial director Kathleen Mitchell said 81% of sales during the height of lockdowns were over the internet, but this had fallen back to 57%, while store customers were up 8% on last year.
READ MORE: 'No plans' to add Waitrose to Glasgow city centre John Lewis in £825m revamp
Writing in the retailer's annual 'How We Shop, Live and Look' report, Ms Mitchell said: "People want to come back to shops, especially on Saturdays.
"Evening shopping has been replaced by weekend shopping. Customers are eating, drinking, spending time in our shops and enjoying all that our stores have to offer - customer numbers are up 8% on last year.
"As many families have discovered, it can be quite a good value day out, with a little self restraint!
"A general election and - we hope - an easing of the cost-of-living crisis are likely to dominate the headlines, but on the high street we expect to see our stores become even more compelling destinations."
The report reveals that, despite the washout summer, handheld fans were John Lewis's best-selling product of the year, with sales up 481% year on year.
Other top sellers were men's boxer shorts, thought to have been adopted by women as outerwear, strapless bras and outdoor sofas.
This year also saw the return of the 90s fragrance, with sales of Angel Mugler, launched in 1992, up 23% while Armani's Aqua di Gio, released in 1996, was up 29%.
Sales of Barbie products were up 31% off the back of the blockbuster movie, while the retailer sold 86% more pairs of Birkenstock sandals - which also made a fleeting appearance in the film - than last year.
The Stanley Quencher cup launched in May in the UK saw sales jump 272% in the second week, with rose quartz being the best selling colour.
READ MORE: 'Encouraging' rise in shopper footfall in August
The poor summer saw sales of beach towels fall by 48% and firepits by 35%, while sales of printers fell by 26% as home workers returned to the office.
The lockdown trend of building up a living room drinks corner to make up for not going out fell out of favour, with sales of drinks trolleys down 13% during the year.
Scottish retail figures earlier this month found that footfall to shops in Scotland had outperformed the UK average, with a 0.4% year-on-year increase in August compared to a 1.6% fall nationally.
Edinburgh - which hosted the festival in August - experienced the largest increase of 5.7% while Glasgow saw a 3.2% decline.
Overall, however, Scottish retail footfall remains around 12.5% lower than pre-Covid levels.
It comes as almost three-quarters of businesses say they have cut the cost of their offices amid the continued shift towards hybrid working.
Research by office and real estate firm IWG found that more than half of businesses have office or co-working space outside city centres.
Mark Dixon, chief executive officer of the Regus operator, said the days of expecting workers to make an "unproductive and expensive commute" are "long gone".
The latest data from more than 500 business bosses across the UK found that 82% of companies have reconfigured their office footprints to better suit hybrid working.
The majority of changes to workspaces have been designed to allow staff to work in offices and co-working locations closer to where they live, according to the survey.
It also found 54% of businesses have office or co-working space outside city centres while 38% have opted for secondary locations in the heart of commuter towns.
As a result, 73% said they reduced the cost of their office footprint.
READ MORE: Post-Covid bid to turn thousands of empty office and retail units into homes
Companies also suggested they are benefiting financially from their employees having shorter commutes, with 36% saying they were paying less in expenses for staff travel.
Mr Dixon said: "It's clear that the old ways of working, with a daily unproductive and expensive commute, are long gone.
"Businesses are realising that not only does hybrid working make sense for their bottom lines, it also benefits their workforces.
"It's encouraging to see that businesses are translating their hybrid working savings into real benefits for employees.
"Not only does this help in the immediate term, with improved productivity and wellbeing, but it will also help them retain and recruit the best talent."
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