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John Lewis comeback: 6 facts that may surprise you
This year, John Lewis’s much-anticipated Christmas advert follows a woman in search of the perfect gift for her sister at the retailer's flagship Oxford Street store.
The department store chain is hoping for a bumper Christmas after several challenging years, during which it closed nearly a third of its stores and cut jobs.
But the fortunes of John Lewis Partnership – which also owns Waitrose – appear to be on the rise. The partnership returned to profit in 2023 and reported promising half-year results in September 2024.
Our experts have taken a closer look at how the retailer is trying to win back customers and reinvent itself – and how shoppers rate it.
1. John Lewis will match Amazon’s prices for electrical products
The department store chain recently brought back its famous ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ price promise after it was scrapped in August 2022.
If you find a lower price for a product covered by its price promise within seven days of your purchase, John Lewis will refund the difference. There are a few conditions: the product must be the same make, size, colour and specification. And it can’t be in a flash sale, reduced to clear, or on a multibuy offer. You can also make a claim if John Lewis itself drops the product price within a week of your purchase.
Under its previous price promise, John Lewis would only match the prices of high-street rivals. It now uses artificial intelligence (AI) to price match against 25 major competitors, including some online-only retailers such as Amazon. However, there is a caveat for Amazon: it will only match the tech giant's prices for electrical products.
Other retailers covered by the John Lewis price promise include AO, Apple, Argos, Boots, Currys, M&S, Next and Richer Sounds. It will only match the price of items directly sold by these retailers; it won't match third-party sellers such as those on Amazon Marketplace. You can find a full list on the John Lewis website.
- Find out more: the best deals in John Lewis’s 2024 Black Friday sale
2. John Lewis is betting big on beauty
Earlier this year, John Lewis scrapped a plan for 40% of profits to come from non-retail ventures and is instead pumping a reported £400 million into its stores.
Last month, as part of a £6.5m makeover, John Lewis unveiled a bigger, ‘more hands-on’ beauty hall at its Oxford Street store along with a new fragrance area and Waterstones book shop.
The revamped seven-floor store also has a starring role in this year's much-awaited Christmas advert: a woman falls through a rack of dresses and into a fantastical world of childhood memories while hunting for a last-minute gift for her sister (watch it below).
The beauty halls in John Lewis's High Wycombe and Cheadle stores have also just had a facelift. The retailer hopes the scrubbed-up beauty halls will lure more shoppers into its flagging department stores and is planning to roll out similar changes across all 34 shops.
John Lewis is also restructuring its shop floor teams so more staff can assist customers during busy periods, and investing in technology that will enable shoppers to ring for assistance at call points and pay sales assistants with mobile card machines.
3. John Lewis has launched a joint loyalty scheme with Waitrose
Until recently, John Lewis and Waitrose operated separate loyalty schemes, but members can now reap savings across both the department store and supermarket chain.
Over a million members already have access to a new central loyalty hub where they can access both John Lewis and Waitrose vouchers and perks. The full roll-out of the joined-up loyalty scheme will take until the end of the year.
John Lewis told us members get all the perks of both loyalty schemes and customers will also start to receive ‘even more personalised offers and promotions’.
If you prefer, you can just sign up for MyWaitrose or My John Lewis, or keep your memberships separate.
How do the current John Lewis and Waitrose schemes work?
Members of the ‘my John Lewis’ scheme currently receive promotions, personalised offers and access to member-only events, such as beauty masterclasses.
Holders of a ‘myWaitrose’ card are entitled to personalised vouchers, a free hot drink when they shop in-store and discounts such as 20% off at the meat counter on Saturdays. Waitrose also offers member-only prices on certain products; John Lewis wouldn’t be drawn on whether it’s planning to introduce lower prices for members in John Lewis stores as well.
- Find out more: check how MyWaitrose compares to other loyalty schemes
4. Shoppers have voted John Lewis the best place to buy appliances and home furnishings
Despite having a tough year behind the scenes, John Lewis consistently stands out for its top-quality products and customer service in our retailer surveys. This year John Lewis was shoppers’ number one choice for home appliances and furniture/homeware purchases, earning five stars for product quality and delivery in both categories.
One customer said John Lewis's sales assistants were 'extremely helpful and knowledgeable', adding 'their customer service is second to none'. An online shopper praised the 'easy-to-use website, reliable delivery and good-quality products'.
It was also joint high-scoring retailer for baby equipment (alongside online retailer The Nursery Store) and came second in our tech table (after hi-fi specialist Richer Sounds).
John Lewis is a Which? Recommended Provider for home appliance, furniture and homeware, tech and baby equipment purchases.
- Find out more: best and worst shops
5. John Lewis is building ‘Waitrose Tower’ in south London
In July, the John Lewis Partnership was granted planning permission to build 353 one-to-three bedroom flats above a Waitrose supermarket in Bromley, southeast London.
Dubbed ‘Waitrose Tower’, the block of flats will reportedly be mid-market and come fully decorated with a personalised John Lewis furniture package. It met with some local opposition due to its height and because there will be far fewer affordable homes than initially promised.
The development is the first stage of John Lewis’s owner’s ambitious pledge to build and rent out 5,000 homes and manage another 5,000. It’s awaiting approval for two more build-to-rent projects: 215 homes in a disused warehouse in Reading, and 428 flats on top of a Waitrose in west London, which faces resistance from locals.
John Lewis has also taken over the day-to-day management of 817 apartments in three existing properties in Birmingham, Leeds and Leicester.
6. John Lewis now offers personal loans
As another part of John Lewis's plans to diversify, it's expanding its financial services arm. As well as offering credit cards, insurance and travel money, it now offers personal loans of up to £35,000.
Borrowers can apply for loans lasting between one and seven years, and get a personalised quote online within three minutes on the John Lewis Money website.
The representative APR is 9.9%, though not all borrowers get this rate. The loans are underwritten and serviced by Zopa Bank.
John Lewis has also just started offering a ‘buy now, pay later’ option in partnership with Klarna, so online shoppers can spread the cost of their purchase over 60 days. Be aware that many buy now, pay later schemes, including Klarna's, are unregulated. This means you don’t get the same protections you get when paying with a credit card.
- Find out more: personal loans and ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes explained
