John Lewis has removed the £30 minimum spend threshold on its website for click and collect orders until 19 October, enabling consumers to place smaller orders without paying a £2 charge for the service.
The move is part of a wider initiative from the department store to encourage shoppers to “spread the cost of Christmas” and start purchasing festive items early.
It has also extended its returns policy, until 28 January, allowing customers to buy now and still exchange or return unwanted gifts after the Christmas season. This is the first time the retailer has introduced this policy in September.
“We want to be here for all life’s moments and, despite all the cost of living pressures, we’ve seen that our customers are still determined to celebrate Christmas and are buying earlier to help spread out the cost,” said Claire Pointon, customer director John Lewis.
“We want to give our customers the piece of mind that items purchased in the run up to Christmas can still be exchanged or returned after the big day.”
The retailer added that customers are already purchasing their Christmas goods earlier. It reported ten times as many boxed baubles sold, sales of Christmas trees are up 37% in comparison to last year, while sales of crackers are up 54% from last week.
