John Lewis pivots to be ‘for all life’s moments’ with product, stores and positioning shift

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John Lewis is to pitch itself as the go-to retailer “for all life’s moments”, relaunching its own brand, changing the way it merchandises and piloting new store formats to reflect its new focus.

John Lewis, which is abandoning its ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ pledge, said the “all-encompassing” change will “ensure that we inspire people beyond the big occasions, bringing joy to all life’s moments”.

The shift is backed by extensive research over the last 18 months by the department store group, including analysis of more than 20 million social media data points, customer shopping habits and qualitative research.

The retailer said a “moments economy” has emerged, driven by factors such as that “in a distracted, digital world we want to appreciate the small, real moments in our lives” and that the importance of such moments is reflected in what people are valuing, such as wellbeing, creating memories with friends and family, and living for the moment.

John Lewis is relaunching its eponymous own brand as the first big change to meet consumer needs and wants.

Customer director Claire Pointon told Retail Week: “The thinking behind it is to say, what moment does that own brand work to and how do we have products that are consciously crafted and connected to those moments?”

Products will be grouped by category so sleep, for example, may include everything from pyjamas to relevant technology and beauty treatments.

A new store format will make its debut in 2023, designed “to inspire customers to shop by real-life moments across categories rather than traditional product departments”. New products and services will also be introduced.

Pointon added: “We’re looking at our store of the future and have some trials coming up.”

This week, John Lewis will launch a marketing campaign online, on its app and in-store, as well as a TV push starting on Thursday, to unveil its new customer promise.

Pointon said: “We are pivoting the business. One of the reasons I’m confident is that this is rooted in people’s lives, so it’s about moments big or small.

“Never Knowingly Undersold was very much about reassurance and trust on price. Ultimately, we weren’t leading in value, we were following. This is all-encompassing. You’ll still have value, quality and service, connected to those moments.

“Great brands have a very clear positioning about what their business should be offering their customer. Almost think of this as a spine in our body – everything that we take to market needs to be through a ‘moments’ lens.”