How binge watching in lockdown changed our shopping habits

LOCKDOWN has seen us taking home entertainment to new levels – and not just by binge-watching TV and streaming services.

For, if our shopping habits are anything to go by, there is a baby boom on the way.

Searches for ‘ new baby’ on the John Lewis website are nearly four times the number a year ago. There has also been a 45 per cent rise in sales of huge flatscreen TVs, for those who have sought entertainment in the living room rather than the bedroom.

The ‘Netflix effect’ is said to have inspired a sales boost for items such as chess sets, thanks to The Queen’s Gambit, and berets, as seen in Emily In Paris. However, the 65 per cent rise in beret sales may also be down to attempts to cover lockdown hair.

The shift to working from home has seen a massive rise in demand for casual wear – with sales up more than tenfold – and espresso machines but a drop in the need for alarm clocks and high heels.

Gym restrictions have seen a rise in sales of fitness equipment but the impossibility of holidays for many of us has caused a slump in demand for luggage.

working from home has also allowed people to get in some sneaky online shopping during shifts, with internet orders now accounting for nearly 70 per cent of John Lewis’s sales. Its annual report, How we Shop, Live and Look, says: ‘we’re seeing signs of a baby boom next year. And we have freed ourselves from the tyranny of the waistband, we became comfortable keeping it casual.’

John Lewis trading director Simon Coble said: ‘The world is a very different place than it was in January. This year we stayed in, hunkered down, decked out and spruced up our homes. There are many lessons we’ve learned, from embracing time spent with loved ones to enjoying the simpler things in life, which will stay with us.’