John Lewis Is Selling Holidays and Picassos. What Can Retailers Learn?

 John Lewis wants shoppers to leave its stores with more than a bag. They could soon walk out with a safari booked, a Picasso selected, a blood test completed or a new piercing. 
 
The department store has announced a fresh wave of specialist concessions as part of its £800 million transformation programme. The move pushes its shops further away from rows of products and closer to places where customers spend time, ask questions, and make decisions that are difficult to replicate online. 

What is John Lewis adding to its stores? 

Audley Travel will open hubs in 12 John Lewis shops from November, giving the luxury tour operator its first high street presence in 30 years. Destination specialists will help customers plan trips across more than 90 destinations. 
 
Clarendon Fine Art is opening galleries in three branches. Oxford Street and Southampton are already trading, with Cheadle due to follow in October. The offer stretches from contemporary work to pieces by Picasso and Keith Haring, backed by art advice, framing, delivery and installation. 
 
John Lewis is also more than doubling the number of Randox Health clinics in its stores and expanding piercing and jewellery studios. These sit alongside existing services such as personal styling, home design and nursery consultations. 

Why are services becoming more valuable than extra stock? 

Online retail is excellent at removing effort. A search box can find the right size, compare prices and deliver tomorrow. A physical shop will rarely beat that kind of speed, so its advantage has to lie elsewhere. 
 
Expertise gives customers a reason to cross the threshold. Choosing art, planning a major holiday, redesigning a room, or changing personal style involves uncertainty. A knowledgeable person can narrow the options and offer reassurance. The service becomes part of the product. 
 
It also creates time. A customer who has booked a 45-minute consultation is not making a hurried visit. They may browse another department, buy a coffee, or notice an item they did not intend to purchase.  

Yet dwell time alone is not the goal. A long visit that feels aimless is still a poor experience. The useful measure is whether the service builds trust and leads naturally to a sale, a future booking or a return visit. 

Can an independent retailer use the same idea?

Yes, but the strongest version will be specific. A small shop does not need four permanent concessions. It needs one credible reason to visit that fits its range and its customers. 
 
A fashion boutique could offer bookable wardrobe edits, occasion styling or a repair session with a local tailor. A gift shop could host personalisation evenings or build present-finding appointments around a customer's recipient and budget. An interiors retailer might run short colour consultations, while a garden shop could offer seasonal planting clinics or advice for balconies and small spaces. 
 
Those ideas work because they remove a real customer worry. They also connect naturally with ranges already on the shelves.  

For more category thinking, see how Gen Z nostalgia is shaping fashion and gifts, why Christmas buying starts early, and why garden and terrace now sell across the year. 

What makes an in-store service commercially useful? 

Keep the first version light. Trial some appointment slots on a Thursday evening before committing to a weekly programme. Record bookings, attendance, sales during the visit and purchases made within the following fortnight.

If the service is free, set a clear boundary around time and scope. If it requires specialist skill or materials, a redeemable booking fee can reduce no-shows without making the experience feel expensive. 
 
The right partner matters too. John Lewis is borrowing authority from established specialists. An independent can do the same with a local florist, stylist, maker, designer or gardener. Agree who owns the customer data, how sales are handled and what each business will promote before announcing anything. 

 How can retailers turn one appointment into a wider sale? 

Build a small product story around the service. A colour consultation can lead into cushions, lighting and ceramics. A planting clinic can sit beside pots, tools and outdoor gifts. A styling appointment can include jewellery, bags and clothing care. The service should make the range easier to buy, rather than distract from it. 

What’s the first step? 

Choose one question customers already ask your team. Turn the answer into a 20 or 30-minute service, give it a simple name, and test it with existing customers. Promote the outcome, not the novelty, and measure what happens after the booking. 
 
John Lewis is using art, travel, health and jewellery to make its large stores feel worth a journey. Independents have a different strength: they already know their customers, their neighbourhood, and the questions people ask at the till. Packaging that knowledge as a service may be the most practical form of experiential retail there is. 

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