Search
Close this search box.

Retail Review: John Lewis

As customers and retailers look across all touchpoints rather than siloed channels, so IR retailer reviews have moved to a new format to look at the entire retailer’s eco-system of website, mobile, the use of digital in store and their overall strategy. This issue our reviewers examine John Lewis .

RETAIL STRATEGY 20/25

Emma Robertson, Managing Director, Transform

As John Lewis strives to embrace omni-channel retail, anecdotally there have been some teething troubles in the transition from multichannel with regards to customer experience, and for John Lewis, customer service is the backbone of its proposition. Its reputation for customer service excellence is underpinned by both the branch staff as well as the in-store care experience, and in the omni-channel world, customer facing staff will be the glue that holds the channels together for the customer. This will be paramount to John Lewis if it is to retain its place in the heart of the British consumer. The scoring is based on: collection in-store; mobile web; mobile app; iPad app; in-store tech.

INTERNET RETAILING IN STORE 21/25

Louise Garvin, Consulting Manager, Javelin Group

John Lewis stands out as one of the UK’s leading multichannel retailers; a position further cemented with the latest store opening in Exeter which has several new cross-channel and interactive features (and would have scored 22/25 in our review). Overall, the store experience is good, John Lewis will no doubt continue to evolve its multichannel proposition, particularly to reflect the evolving role of the mobile device as a means to enhance and personalize the store experience. Our multichannel proposition evaluation is based on our proprietary scorecard which assesses multichannel functionality and execution across 8 key customer centric areas. This review is based on John Lewis’ Oxford Street store.

MOBILE 20/25

Adam Maxted, Square Media Consultancy

Both the m-site and App were not market leading exponents when looking at other similar competitor offerings in the sector and seemed to be based on a template approach, rather than offering an engaging, rich experience for mobile shoppers. Overall, the mobile channel works functionally well for first time users and repeat customers but could just do with finessing in a few areas, particularly creative look and a few small areas of navigation. Using two mobile devices – an iPhone 5 and a Nokia Lumina 800 Windows 7 – I took a look at both the apps and m-websites of John Lewis to assess their look and feel, layout, content, navigation, usability, payment processing and post sale service.

WEB EFFECTIVENESS 22/25

Shane Walsh, User Experience Consultant, User Vision

For the most part, the John Lewis site is a great example of an effective ecommerce site. The faceted search feature is implemented excellently, managing to display a large number of filters for navigating through the online store. The product page strikes an exemplary balance between displaying detailed images of products and information about the product. The neutral colour palette of the navigation features allows the products to sell themselves. Customers are reassured throughout the checkout process, through appropriate feedback, that this is a secure site. Accessibility is well considered on the site, however some accessibility issues were identified.

User Vision is reviewing the effectiveness of each John L retailer by 5 different criteria which are assessed while following a standard user journey through the site. In the case of the John Lewis site this was when purchasing a winter coat.

RETAIL LEADERBOARD

John Lewis 83/100

Read More

Register for Newsletter

Group 4 Copy 3Created with Sketch.

Receive 3 newsletters per week

Group 3Created with Sketch.

Gain access to all Top500 research

Group 4Created with Sketch.

Personalise your experience on IR.net