• 18 times more people are searching for smart home products on www.johnlewis.com, compared to the same time the previous year (Dec 2014 – Dec 2015)
• Sales of smart home products as a category at John Lewis have increased by 81 per cent year-on-year from 2014 to 2015
• Large range of smart technology on display in an interactive setting for all areas of the home.

John Lewis has set its sights on the future by opening the UK's largest smart home technology experience at its flagship Oxford Street store.

The 1,000 square foot space, opening its doors to customers on the 7 of April, will boast futuristic gadgets for every part of the home.

From an oven that enables you to put dinner on before you leave the office, to a bedside device that monitors the quality of your sleep and a smart fridge which does your internet shopping for you, a wide range of the latest cutting edge technology will be on display in an interactive, real-life home setting.

The move comes in response to an 81 per cent increase in sales of smart home products in the past year at John Lewis.

Despite the futuristic nature of the products, when it comes to buying, seeing is believing and customers still need top quality customer service in stores. It is important for customers to touch and demo the technology with Partners in store before buying.

'We are seeking to demystify the latest smartest technology for our customers,' says Johnathan Marsh, Buying Director for Electricals and Home Technology, John Lewis. 'In-store experiences are now key as we've seen customer demand for physical experiences before committing to purchase increase. To help customers understand which smart technology is for them, our Partners have received extensive training to provide added value. Given our home and technology credentials, John Lewis is perfectly placed to support and lead the customer on the smart home journey.'

Futuristic technology today

Four interactive zones: 'Kitchen', 'Entertainment', 'Sleep' and 'Home monitoring' will demonstrate how customers can save time, effort and enhance their busy lifestyles by controlling their homethrough the touch of an app on their smart device.  Demos from specially trained Partners will showcase how smart technology instinctively responds to human behaviour.

Innovations which mirror human behavior

The highly anticipated Samsung Family Hub Smart Fridge with built-in touch screen which brightens up automatically as you approach, allows you to internet shop from your fridge. A set of cameras inside the door mean you can view the contents of your fridge from your phone when out and about so you know when to buy milk.

It isn't just kitchen appliances that can be programmed to undertake tasks. Also on show for the first time is the new S+ by ResMed, the world's first non-contact sleep tracking system that helps analyse and improve quality of sleep. The ResMed S+ records light, noise and temperature conditions in bedrooms, and syncs to smart devices to provide personalised feedback on how to improve sleep.

All products featured in the space will be available to purchase in-store and online at johnlewis.com and the smart home experience will be rolled out to other shops across the UK starting with the new John Lewis Leeds store, scheduled to open in Autumn 2016.

The future of the Smart Home

John Vary, Innovation Manager, John Lewis, comments 'Smart home technology is designed to make life more convenient, and the introduction of this new curated experience – the first on the high street - marks a brilliant step in innovation for John Lewis. Showcasing the latest smartproducts, this experience demonstrates in a real-life setting, how technology has exciting and far-reaching implications for today's lifestyles.'

Customers will also benefit from the John Lewis Never Knowingly Undersold price promise, ensuring that products are available at the best price on the high street. All electricals come with John Lewis's market leading two-year guarantee.

Products featured in the smart home experience include Philips Hue lighting; Sonos PLAY:5 Wireless Music System; Nest Protect 2nd Generation Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm; AEG BS8836880B ProCombi Plus Smart Oven and the Netatmo Welcome Home Camera with Face Recognition.

The smart home experience at John Lewis Oxford Street is open to customers from 9.30am on Thursday 7 April.

www.johnlewis.com

www.johnlewis.com/smarthome

Notes to editors

The John Lewis Partnership - The John Lewis Partnership operates 46 John Lewis shops across the UK (32 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2), johnlewis.com, 346 Waitrose shops, waitrose.com and business to business contracts in the UK and abroad. The business has annual gross sales of over £11bn. It is the UK's largest example of worker co-ownership where all 91,500 staff are Partners in the business.

John Lewis - John Lewis operates 46 John Lewis shops across the UK (32 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. It is part of the John Lewis Partnership, the UK's largest example of worker co-ownership and all 30,000 John Lewis staff are Partners in the business. John Lewis, 'Best Clothing Retailer 2015' , 'Best Electricals Retailer 2015' and 'Best Homewares Retailer 2015'¹, typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores across fashion, home and technology. Johnlewis.com stocks over 280,000 products, and 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.

¹ Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Awards 2015

You can follow John Lewis on the following social media channels:
www.johnlewis.com/twitter
www.johnlewis.com/facebook
www.johnlewis.com/youtube.

Enquiries

For further information or images please contact:
Emma Gibson / Dan Wilson
Telephone: 020 7592 6003 / 020 7798 3915
Email: emma.gibson@johnlewis.co.uk / daniel.wilson@johnlewis.co.uk