As well as reviewing the last twelve months, this year's special five-year edition looks back over the extensive changes in the UK and in retail since 2013. For instance:

• Black Friday has replaced Cyber Sunday as the biggest spending day of the year
• There are now almost 50 times more smart home products stocked at John Lewis, compared to 2013
• The proportion of visits from mobiles and tablets to johnlewis.com has increased from 42% to 64% in the last five years.

As with previous years, we have analysed extensive internal data to provide an insight into the products which fell out of favour, the trends that soared and the themes which dominated the year.

What we left behind:

• Spiralizers: Online searches dropped by 53% compared to last year
• Office suits for women: This traditional look is becoming a thing of the past with matching suit jackets and skirts seeing a 10% decline
• Push-up bras: Customers favour non-padded options today, with sales up 20%
• Sat Navs: With smartphones taking the driving seat, we plan to remove these from our stocklist.

2017 was the year of the unicorn and Millennial Pink

Faced with economic uncertainty and an eventful year in politics, customers sought out products to help them escape from reality:

• Online searches for pool inflatables increased 99% compared to last year
• Unicorns were emblazoned on everything, from wallets to water bottles (searches increased 70%)
• Searches for mermaid-themed products increased 22% on last year.

Meanwhile, the iconic blush shade 'Millennial Pink' dominated colour palettes in homes and wardrobes as a result of its phenomenal popularity on the social media feeds of famous influencers including Rihanna and Beyoncé.

• 63,000 searches for 'pink' on johnlewis.com since January 2017
• Bedroom accessories in this shade saw a 28% increase in sales
• Men's pink t-shirts saw a 74% sales increase and pink shirts were up 39% on last year
• Sales of women's pink jackets increased by 55% compared to last year

Breakfast was reinvented

This is also the year that the UK lost its appetite for a traditional greasy fry-up, replacing it with a more wholesome alternative. Fat-free Eaziglide frying pans were best sellers, egg gadgets and avocado tools saw sales rises of 25% and 40%. Breakfast classics such as teapots, butter dishes, egg cups and coffee machines all experienced sales increases.

We redefined how customers interact with shops

Nowadays, experience is as important as the product. John Lewis offered more try-before-you-buy, exclusive experiences in the last twelve months than ever before, including sleepovers in shops, live cooking demonstrations with Jamie Oliver, high tea in a Wedgewood pop-up tearoom and yoga and boxing workouts on the rooftop of John Lewis Oxford Street. Millennials are driving this appetite for unique shopping experiences, with younger John Lewis customers twice as likely to do a leisure activity or have a beauty treatment while out shopping than more mature customers.

Mobile shopping is now second nature

Today, almost everyone uses a phone to browse and buy: over a third of online traffic to JohnLewis.com comes from mobiles. In 2017 there was a tipping point in behaviour, as purchases on smartphones increased a staggering 69%, compared to last year. One reason for the growing dominance of mobile shopping is that it allows for a bite-size shopping experience, with customers filling time by browsing for inspiration or buying an urgent item within a matter of minutes.

Peter Cross, Director of Customer Experience at John Lewis, said: 'How we shop continues to change at pace. Shops now need to combine the very best products with the latest, most immersive experiences. For many customers, their phones are the 'remote control' for their lives with their shopping, banking, social networks and to-do list in one place.

'Five years on, this report is as intriguing as ever - as much for highlighting what we bought as highlighting what we haven't. It's our job to make sure that customers in 2020 will be as engaged and excited by the products and experiences we offer as they are today. In the face of all this change we will make sure that John Lewis remains trusted by millions of customers across the country for expert advice and guaranteed quality, which is never knowingly undersold.'

*The John Lewis Retail Report is created every year and is based on its shopping data from August 2016 to September 2017.

Download a copy of the John Lewis Retail report 2017 (PDF 3.1MB)

Notes to editors

John Lewis - John Lewis operates 48 John Lewis shops across the UK (34 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. John Lewis,  'Best In-Store Experience 2017', 'Best Furniture Retailer 2017,' 'Best Homewares Retailer 2017'¹, stocks around 350,000 separate lines in its department stores and johnlewis.com across fashion, home and technology. Johnlewis.com is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK.  John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products - home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover - delivering the values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.

¹Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Awards 2017

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Enquiries

For further information please contact:

John Lewis
Lexi Finnigan
Corporate Communications Manager
Telephone: 0207 592 6994
Email: pressoffice@johnlewis.co.uk