John Lewis will reopen its shops in England and Wales on 12 April following the latest Government guidance. It will also reopen its newly refurbished Edinburgh shop on 14 May and plans to reopen its Glasgow shop from 26 April subject to Government guidance.

After more than three months shut due to the national lockdown, John Lewis will once again welcome customers through its doors to browse, shop, and use its services.

This includes opening its changing rooms, restarting children’s shoe fitting, and in-person nursery appointments.

In line with Government guidance, next day Click & Collect services will also resume in John Lewis shops. This is in addition to pick-up locations in Waitrose, Co-op, and Booths; taking the total number of collect locations to over 900.

Commenting is Pippa Wicks, Partner and executive director at John Lewis. “We are delighted to be welcoming our much-missed customers into our shops once more. We’re looking forward to reuniting customers with the joy of physical shopping, along with the excitement of our stores whilst also introducing our customers to stylish new products at prices they won’t expect.

“We’re also excited to be opening up much-needed services and helping customers choose those items that are harder to buy online – from the perfect mattress to road testing the right pram or finding the right pair of jeans. We want to make sure the shopping experience is as fun and inspiring as it’s ever been, while also ensuring that our customers and Partners feel safe.”

Some of the ways John Lewis will be helping customers to shop safely include:

• Fitting rooms will be open with appropriate safety measures in place.
• Providing ‘Customer Service Hosts’ to welcome customers into the store and answer any questions. They will also manage customer numbers and queues, both at entrances and busy areas of the shop.
• Contactless payment limit in all shops will increase from £30 to £45 to help customers minimise the need for contact while shopping. The limit will increase again to £100 by the end of the year.
• Protective screens at till points. Also, at areas of the shop where social distancing cannot be achieved between customers and Partners, such as ‘Welcome Desks’.
• A safe and simple returns process. This includes new drop boxes and quarantining returned stock for 48 hours.