John Lewis raises bar on in-store experience

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At a sneak preview of the new John Lewis store in Oxford, boss Paula Nickolds stated ambitions to reinvent the shopping experience.

Demonstrating how seriously the department store retailer was taking retail-tainment, she lifted the lid on a new ‘concierge-style’ shopping service.

But it won’t be just another personal-shopping service.

According to Nickolds, the retailer will take on staff to book shoppers into exclusive events, masterclasses, appointments and its rooftop restaurant – making a John Lewis visit a real day out.

The initiative will be launched at the 120,000 sq ft Oxford store due to open next Tuesday, which is overseen by the retailer’s first brand experience manager and where the 322 staff have been given theatre school training.

Elsewhere today, we took a look at a Currys PC World shop-in-shop at the Tesco Extra store in Milton Keynes to see how the fledgling partnership between the two retail giants was shaping up.

Quote of the day

“Amazon has managed to improve shopper loyalty with its Amazon Prime services, and impressive range of toys and games.

“Prices on this year’s must-have toys are lower than its competitors, its range is unrivalled, and the convenience of its offering is market-leading.”

– GlobalData senior retail analyst Molly Johnson-Jones commenting on Amazon’s strength in the toy market