UK fashion-shopping echoes current weather, they love prints says John Lewis

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 24, 2016

John Lewis’s fourth annual retail report has revealed which products Britons bought in 12 months of political, cultural and economic shake-up. The retailer said consumers responded to all this by making “brave statements of self-expression and embracing escapism.”

Analysis of 12 months of John Lewis sales reveals that the weather had a huge impact on what customers bought and when with a mild January seeing strong sales of lightweight linen but snow in April boosting sales of scarves, faux fur throws and slippers. They rose 41%, 200% and 300%, respectively.

Meanwhile an unseasonably cool early summer led to a 13% rise in women’s thermal underwear purchases.

The company said that sales of bold, abstract printed dresses soared in womenswear, increasing 168% while clashing prints made a statement in the home – with multi-coloured hummingbird wallpaper increasing in sales 94% and patterned china 52%.

Flamingos decorating products such as cups and cushions to wallpaper and fairy lights were also popular and searches for 'flamingo' increased 200% on johnlewis.com.

Gold pineapples were also a decorative hit and the company said it sold 70 a day at the height of their popularity.
 
The company also said that its Kuoni travel agents saw a 40% rise in long-haul holidays and sales of its portable mobile phone chargers soared over 200% in July as people distracted themselves by hunting for Pokemon.

Less popular this year were big hats which saw searches down 50% to be replaced by disc-shaped fascinators. Selfie sticks (searches down 50%), CD and DVD storage and alarm clocks also declined as consumers used their mobile devices for listening to music, watching movies/TV shows and waking them up in the morning.