Amid fears of a tough festive trading season after the UK fell into recession, John Lewis is hoping to steal a march on its rival by opening its online Christmas shop earlier than ever.
The department store retailer said it had brought forward the launch by ten days compared to 2019 in response to the high level of searches on its website for Christmas products, which so far this month are already up 370% on last year. The most searched for products are Christmas trees, baubles, cards, lights and wrapping paper with the retailer suggesting the coronavirus lockdown was behind the trend.
Jason Billings-Cray, Christmas Buyer at John Lewis said; “Christmas always provides a reason for celebration and a welcome break. Understandably it looks as if people are looking forward to and planning for it earlier than ever this year.
“Christmas celebrations mostly take place in our homes and we have seen how the lockdown has made people think more about their homes, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that people are already thinking about how they will decorate their homes this Christmas.”
The retailer revealed that its sister chain Waitrose has also seen a significant increase in Christmas searches – up 42% on last July and August. The number of people looking for Christmas puddings rose by 75%, whilst mince pie and mincemeat searches are up over 110% and 400% respectively.
NAM Implication:
- Fingers crossed!
