Department store group John Lewis & Partners and grocery stablemate Waitrose & Partners have opened the doors to a new-model store designed to engage consumers more than ever by putting experience and services centre stage.
The John Lewis and Waitrose branch in Southampton’s Westquay shopping centre includes a variety of firsts, such as a John Lewis Partnership Leckford Estate-branded farm shop and roof garden, a Waitrose Cookery School and the latest iterations of services including personal styling and beauty advice.
As well as conventional navigation, the shop has also been designed to be explored by experience, in order to create a “social shopping” environment in which to “wrap” product. An experience desk in the middle of the entry floor provides a launchpad for the customer journey and a menu of options.
John Lewis customer experience director Peter Cross told Retail Week: “People want to fill their time in a social way. They have a well-trodden path when they visit shops and what we’re trying to do is change that path and bring people into experiences. In future, you could imagine the journey starting at the experience desk.
“The thinking here is that what these experiences are doing is wrapping around the product that we sell – our job is to make buying the merchandise easier and more fun.”
The store includes:
- A World of Design ‘play space’ where customers can create their own home interiors look using mood boards and fabrics, and book consultations – free and paid for – with an expert
- A Waitrose Cookery School offering wine tasting, food demonstrations and classes
- The Beauty Society – an updated version of the pilot Beauty Studio, offering advice and appointments
- Personal styling for women and men, such as talks, advice and bookable appointments
- The Download – a new technology ‘playground’ where products and services are demystified. Customers can try out products as if they were at home rather than through a conventional demonstration, or attend sessions on subjects ranging from wellness personal tech to photography
- Farm shop and roof garden where shoppers can attend masterclasses in subjects such as gardening or calligraphy, and have food and drink outside
Southampton was chosen for the experimental store because of local customers’ strong affinity with the retailer, which has traded in the city since 1940. Cross said: “We’ve got a customer here with a real point of view about John Lewis. This is a customer-centric experiment in a place where people will be very vocal.”
The success of the various initiatives will be assessed, and successful ones rolled out as John Lewis, like other retailers, seeks to develop store models that reflect changing consumer habits.
Cross added: “Not all of it might work. The future of shops is not a slam dunk. Our take is to put experience at the heart. Our job is to watch closely what customers do. This is day one of a different process.”
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