Record sales experienced by both, but John Lewis comes out on top | Retail News

John Lewis steals the high street crown

John Lewis has stolen the UK high street crown from Marks & Spencer after sales in Britain overtook the high street bellwether for the first time, the Guardian reports.

The success was two-fold as both parts of the staff-owned retailer, Waitrose and John Lewis, cemented their status as middle-England’s favourite shopping destination with record sales. This reflects a recent study by Webloyalty, which revealed John Lewis as the ‘nation’s favourite retailer’, closely followed by Primark.

what’s driving this change?

John Lewis has been a strong player in the multichannel market, and has embraced the need to attract online customers through different devices. Only this week it was announced that John Lewis has invested in digital development, whereas Marks & Spencer seems to be trailing behind in this regard, though M&S did release a new-look website.

Retail Analyst Neil Saunders

“John Lewis has definitely replaced M&S as the darling of the British high street. M&S is still the more predominant – it has more stores and more shoppers – but when you look at new routes to market like online and mobile John Lewis is light years ahead.”

could this be something to do with bear and hare?

The Christmas 2013 advert from John Lewis was a viral hit, and led to increased footfall in their stores as families wanted to meet the animals and buy the merchandise. Here you can view the John Lewis Christmas advert.

Which is your favourite? John Lewis or Marks & Spencer? Answers on a postcard!

Retailer John Lewis invests in digital development | Shopper spotlight on lookfantastic.com