John Lewis Christmas ad helps retailer’s weekly sales top £100m
The positive reaction John Lewis’ Christmas advertisement has received appears to be translating into additional sales as the department store reported receipts for the week since the spot launched topped £100m for the first time in 2013.
The “bear and hare” animated spot launched online on 8 November and on television a day later, generating buzz on social media and clocking up millions of views on YouTube.
John Lewis says sales for the week to 16 November increased 10.7 per cent over the same period last year to £100.4m – the highest weekly total registered in 2013. Sales in the previous week rose 7.1 per cent year on year. The retailer’s online arm, johnlewis.com saw sales soar 23.7 per cent.
The cold snap boosted sales of boots, slippers, hot water bottles and tumble dryers, a statement adds.
Andrew Murphy, retail director of John Lewis, says: “The launch of our advert has resulted in a real festive buzz – Lily Allen is currently No.2 in the iTunes chart and we have brought the story of the bear and the hare to for customers by installing caves in eleven of our shops so that children can have their photograph taken with cut outs of the ad’s stars.”
The retailer is making a concerted effort to exploit interest in its ad this year after admitting it missed an opportunity in previous years to sell merchandise on the back of the popularity of its festive efforts.
In addition to the sale of the Lily Allen track and charging for photos, customers can create a digital card featuring characters from the ad and download an interactive e-book featuring games and touch-to-activate features.
