John Lewis opens its online Christmas shop… exactly FOUR MONTHS before the big day
- It is the earliest time John Lewis has ever launched its online Christmas shop
- Christmas trees, baubles, cards and lights are the most searched for items
- Customer searches for Christmas products are up 370% from this time last year
It is exactly four months until Christmas, but it seems the nation is already yearning for Yuletide.
So much so that John Lewis is opening its online Christmas shop ten days earlier than last year amid a surge in searches for festive products.
It seems the increased amount of time Britons have spent at home during the pandemic has led to families beginning to dream about December 25.
A John Lewis spokesman said: ‘Customer searches on the website for Christmas products are up by 370 per cent on this time last year.
It seems the increased amount of time Britons have spent at home during the pandemic has led to families beginning to dream about December 25. Above, people wait for the John Lewis store in Westfield to open on Christmas Eve
‘This is the earliest we have ever launched our online Christmas shop and ten days earlier than last year.
‘The most searched for products in order of popularity are: Christmas trees, baubles, cards, lights and wrapping paper.’
The company said web searches for Christmas on the website of sister brand Waitrose over July and August were up 42 per cent on last year, despite there still being 122 days to go.
Searches for Christmas puddings were up 75 per cent, with mince pie searches up 110 per cent.
The company said web searches for Christmas on the website of sister brand Waitrose over July and August were up 42 per cent on last year, despite there still being 122 days to go (file photo)
The store’s festive products buyer Jason Billings-Cray said: ‘Christmas celebrations mostly take place in our homes and we have seen how the lockdown has made people think more about their homes, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that people are already thinking about how they will decorate them.’
He added: ‘During the lockdown many people have spent more time outdoors and become closer to nature.
‘From the hundreds of emails from customers asking to be alerted when specific decorations become available it looks as if animal baubles will be the most popular this year with peacocks, squirrels and toucans topping the list of most wanted.’