‘Tis already the season… How John Lewis aims to help shoppers ‘spread the cost of Christmas’

John Lewis - Paul Grover
John Lewis - Paul Grover

Sales of Christmas trees and baubles are booming, according to John Lewis, as the department store said it was inviting shoppers to buy festive items early.

The store has removed the minimum spend threshold on its website for click-and-collect orders until October 19 to make it easier for customers to order smaller items in advance of the Christmas rush.

The move comes as John Lewis revealed that sales of its boxed baubles are up ten times compared with this time last year.

Sales of Christmas trees are up by more than a third (37 per cent) compared with the same period last year, while crackers have seen a 54 per cent spike in the last week.

John Lewis has also changed its returns policy so that shoppers can exchange or return any unwanted gifts bought from now up to January 28 2023.

It is the first time the store has done this in September as it says that customers are looking to “spread the cost of Christmas”.

The store said it would be running promotions across home, fashion and tech from October to help customers looking to tick off their Christmas shopping early.

Claire Pointon, John Lewis customer director said: “We want to be here for all life’s moments and, despite all the cost of living pressures, we’ve seen that our customers are still determined to celebrate Christmas and are buying earlier to help spread out the cost.

“We want to give our customers the peace of mind that items purchased in the run-up to Christmas can still be exchanged or returned after the big day.”