John Lewis launches virtual services and experiences to meet the new needs of Britain in isolation

Tuesday 14 April 2020

Expert nursery, home and styling advice services adapted to the evolving needs of customers will be available to access from home.

Launching today, John Lewis will be boosting support for today’s ‘Virtual Britain’ by transforming and adapting its in-store services and taking them online for the first time to meet the evolving needs of Britain in isolation. The free and bookable, advice-driven appointments will enable the retailer to provide core services to support the nation during lockdown, maintaining its ambition to be there every step of the way for its customers.   

Providing advice, inspiration and support, talented and specialist Partners will be on hand to guide customers, whether it’s welcoming a new addition to the family or advice on interior solutions for the home.  Customers will be able to book free, one-to-one video appointments with knowledgeable experts all from the comfort of their own sofa. The initial launch will include virtual nursery, home design and personal styling advice with further services, inspirational talks and learning sessions planned to launch at the end of April.

Free virtual Nursery appointments - Reassuring parents-to-be, Advisors can answer questions, discuss the best products and help them navigate all the information and advice on essentials during a one hour video call. Following the call, further information and a personalised shopping list will be emailed to help the preparations new parents will be making from home. Customers booked-in for store appointments due to take place since stores have temporarily closed are being offered the virtual option.

Virtual Home Design - Expert interior advice with a Home Design Stylist to help customers during lockdown by providing home inspiration, support and advice - ranging from repurposing ideas and tips to make their space more comfortable, creating an area that is flexible for work and feels like a sanctuary right now or to tackle a new interiors project.  During a one hour video call customers can walk and talk through their spaces with the Stylist and discuss inspiration. The Stylist will spend some time pulling together a mood board, ideas and shopping list, sending directly to a customer following the call.

Virtual Styling - Wardrobe Advice -  Expert Personal Stylists from the John Lewis Style Studios will offer appointments to support customers who have found themselves with extra time to declutter and organise their cupboards and drawers.  Providing guidance on key staples and tips to help streamline wardrobes, the stylist will also be on hand to help customers re-discover treasured items and build outfits. The video appointment is bookable via the stylist’s John Lewis Instagram account. Stylists will follow up the appointment with a personalised email detailing all that was discussed. Stylists will also be hosting style Q&As on their Instagram accounts as well as sharing useful and inspirational styling content.

Peter Cross, Director of Customer Experience at John Lewis and Waitrose, comments: “We are a diverse, resilient and strong business, and are wholeheartedly committed to supporting the wellbeing of our customers at this time.  Through the power of technology, we have carefully curated these free one-to-one virtual appointments to reflect the needs of the nation during this national crisis. We have gathered our experts from across the country to offer these services initially across nursery, home and styling, with future plans to extend our services across nutritional advice, wine tastings, and tech support to name a few.”

JohnLewis.com has also been a go-to destination for customers looking for daily essentials. The retailer has seen a large number of customers shopping for home office equipment including desks, chairs and laptops as the nation adapts to working from home. Crafting kits and puzzles have also seen sales similar to Christmas as families keep themselves busy during lockdown. The closure of beauty salons and hairdressers across the country has seen a spike in demand for personal care items and hair removal products are up more than eight fold while men’s grooming, including hair clippers have seen sales up nearly 200%.

A brand new online hub on JohnLewis.com - “Your Partners Through It all” is also available for anyone looking for tips, inspiration and activities online.  Customers can access a variety of content on both JL.com and Waitrose.com including crafting ideas, creative cooking, as well as gardening and home interior inspiration. 

Please visit the John Lewis ‘Partners Through it All’ Hub for further information 

• Virtual Nursery and Home Design appointments can be booked via the John Lewis ‘Partners Through it All’ Hub https://www.johnlewis.com/content/your-partners-through-it-all. Home Design Stylists include @jl_wil, @jl_bethan and @jl_felicity 
• Styling appointments can be booked via Instagram Message and include the following stylists @JL_VictoriaT, @JL_OliviaR, @JL_StephShaw, @JL_Promise.
• All existing in-store bookings will be emailed, offering customers to re-book, have a virtual appointment or cancel entirely if they prefer.

About the John Lewis Partnership

The John Lewis Partnership owns and operates two of Britain's best-loved retail brands - John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners. Started as a radical idea nearly a century ago, the Partnership is the largest employee-owned business in the UK and amongst the largest in the world, with over 80,000 employees who are all Partners in the business. For all intents and purposes, the Partnership is a social enterprise; the profits made are reinvested into the business - for customers and Partners. John Lewis & Partners operates 50 shops across the UK (36 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. Waitrose & Partners has 338 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 61 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. Waitrose & Partners exports products to more than 50 countries worldwide and has nine shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. The retailer's omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine and waitroseflorist.com for plants and flowers.