John Lewis & Partners has opened its online Christmas shop this week, 10 days earlier than ever before as it looks to tap into pent-up post lockdown demand to kick start peak and make the most of the ’golden quarter’.
The retailer has already seen a 370% up on last year, prompting the seller to bring forward the launch of the online store with four months to go until Christmas. Sister site Waitrose, incidentally, has also seen searches for ’Christmas’ on Waitrose.com over July and August up 42% on last year.
The John Lewis & Partners Christmas site will have the full range of Christmas products online – animal baubles are going to be big this year, FYI – with the full range not hitting stores until 25 September, indicating just how digital retail has become.
“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,” says Jason Billings-Cray, Partner and Christmas Buyer. “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.”
