John Lewis’ annual online sales have passed the £1bn milestone – a year early. The multichannel retailer expected its yearly sales to hit £1bn in 2014, and says its success in reaching the milestone early, on a 52-week rolling basis, stems from its determination to build its online operations around its customers.
“Passing the £1bn milestone almost an entire year ahead of schedule is a fantastic achievement for us, and a reflection of how central online shopping has become to our customers,” said Mark Lewis, who recently joined John Lewis as Online Director.
Over the last three years the department store has put nearly £40m into its new website which it says is the foundation of its customer-focused omnichannel strategy. The new site’s features include an improved wish list function, search history and content designed to inspire. More customer-focused functionality is planned for the future.
A prominent feedback form on the site generates about 300 pieces of feedback a day, which the retailer will use to prioritise issues and spot trends.
John Lewis’ mobile site, which now sees more than 25% of traffic to Johnlewis.com, has been revamped to mirror the design of the main site, and there are plans for a new app later this year. Paul Coby, IT Director at John Lewis, said: “With sales up over 40% for johnlewis.com in 2012, we are seeing an unprecedented pace of online growth and customers are making more demands on our website, than ever before.
“The billion-pound success of johnlewis.com is a reflection of our strategy to put the customer at the heart of our online
operations. Early testing at every stage of the build, and inviting over three million customers to use our beta site before full launch, has resulted in what we believe will be an outstanding experience and journey for customers.
“We have designed the new site to incorporate the best features of our previous site making it not only easy and intuitive to use, but inspiring to shop.”
