John Lewis: Blue skinny suits, NutriBullets and record players top sales trends
The blue skinny suit, NutriBullet blender and record player were among the top trends for British shoppers over the last year, while crystal glasses, formal silver tableware and bread makers fell out of fashion.
John Lewis, which compiles the annual How We Shop, Live and Look report on the nation's shopping habits, found loom bands, thongs and fishnet stockings were no longer in favour, and sales of bookcases also declined in line with the increasing popularity of e-readers over paperbacks.
Major events that influenced the shopping year were November's Black Friday, which resulted in John Lewis's biggest ever week of sales in its 150 years of trading, while the run-up to the May general election saw customers holding off on buying big ticket items until the results came in.
Princess Charlotte's christening sparked a 30% increase in sales of traditional Silver Cross prams, while Prince George's traditional outfits also proved trend-setting and contributed to a 69% increase in sales of boy's navy knitted jumpers and a 60% jump in sales of red cords.
In February, actor Eddie Redmayne's appearance at the Oscars in a blue suit is thought to have contributed to sales of non-black suits spiking by 10%.
Other big movers included the NutriBullet blender, while "spiralizing" fruit and vegetables saw the flagship Oxford Street store selling more than 100 spiralizer gadgets a day at its peak.
The return of the record player epitomised the UK's "tech-nostalgia" with sales up 36% and vinyl album sales up 69% on last year.
But technology remained the backdrop of another year of significant shifts in shopper behaviour, with the proportion of traffic to the retailer's website from mobiles increasing to 60%.
Two-thirds of customers used both shops and online, and the number of customers using both channels increased by 9% on last year.
John Lewis commercial director Paula Nickolds confirmed that the retailer would be part of Black Friday again this year, despite reservations voiced by managing director Andy Street early this year that it hit profitability and caused havoc on the high street.
Ms Nickolds said: "John Lewis has no choice. We are part of this whether we want to be or not.
"We are absolutely committed to our Never Knowingly Undersold pledge and this means we are part of this event.
"We are anticipating that Black Friday will be bigger than ever this year."
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