John Lewis is focusing on the customer experience and on loyalty as it launches a series of virtual workshops. The department store is set to re-open a quarter of its shops, starting on June 15, as it emerges from lockdown. Neither it nor sister supermarket Waitrose will be able to run the in-store events and advice sessions (pictured) that it had developed in recent years as a way of giving shoppers new reasons to come to its stores rather than buy online.
The new free workshops, exclusively for myJohnLewis and myWaitrose members, will address lockdown side effects from poor posture to disturbed sleep and unhealthy eating habits. It is inviting members by email to book onto a series of live classes from Waitrose nutritionists about healthier food choices and meal planning, sessions on sleep and cardio sessions. Former Olympic runner Lord Sebastian Coe will take part in a session on posture. The series will take place every Wednesday during June and add to other virtual services launched in recent weeks including nursery, home and styling advice services.
Peter Cross, partner and director of customer experience at Waitrose and John Lewis, said: “Lockdown will have taken its toll on us all in different ways, whether it’s long hours working on an unsuitable chair in our bedrooms, unhealthy snacking, disturbed sleep or lack of proper exercise, as well as the impact on our mental health. We’re really excited to be doing our bit to help and have created a broad range of content with some of the nation’s superstars as well as our own in house experts to look at wellbeing from a variety of angles – we hope that there’s something here for everyone however small.”
The event is being held in partnership with insurance provider Vitality,
Lizzie Simmonds of Vitality and an Olympic swimmer, said: “Our health and wellbeing, and that of our family, has never felt more important than it does right now, yet the biggest challenge many people face when trying to get more active is knowing how to get started or to fit exercise into their lives.
“We’ve designed these workshops to offer something for everyone, from children to adults, with more traditional exercise classes, right through to fancy dress activity classes in the garden.”
Image courtesy of John Lewis
