John Lewis trials service-led experiences for loyalty members

British Department store John Lewis is to trial a “VIP space” for members of the My John Lewis loyalty program that allows visitors to enjoy free food and drink alongside a massage as they take a break from shopping.

Described as a “VIP retreat or third space”, the lounge will be trialed until Christmas at John Lewis’s flagship London store on Oxford Street. Visitors will be served a complimentary glass of sparkling wine or a hot drink, and have the option to enjoy hand and arm massages, Waitrose chocolates and nibbles from the cafe chain Benugo, which operates cafes and restaurants in several John Lewis department stores across the UK. 

According to reports in the British press over the weekend, the lounge has capacity for 30 guests and will be open to walk ins or, for those who want to secure their visit, places can be booked in advance. 

Rosie Hanley, the brand director at John Lewis, is quoted as saying: “Our new John Lewis Lounge is about rewarding loyalty with a premium experience. This trial is a perfect example of our wider strategy investing in our stores to offer unique, service-led experiences that our customers can’t get anywhere else.”

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The importance of the third space in retail 

In retail, a third space is an area intended to serve as a social hub, where the emphasis is on creating a community and brand experience that will boost overall footfall. Traditionally, this has been without the expectation that visitors will necessarily purchase one of that brand’s core goods or services, but recent years have seen these spaces evolve into immersive, emotion-based experiences with their own price tags. 

Depending on the brand, third spaces focus on hospitality, entertainment or wellbeing and range from coffee shops to running clubs and everything in between. They can be a “store within a store”, for example, collocating a branded coffee shop within a department store, as Macey’s did with Starbucks, or as Nike previously did, they can encourage a social interaction around the brand’s core products, for example, an in-store running club. 

In the UK, a number of brands have leaned into the concept of a third space in recent years. Earlier this year, John Lewis unveiled a partnership with Jamie Oliver to open his new flagship Cookery School and Café at its Oxford Street store. High street clothes retailer Primark now operates a series of themed cafes, embracing everything from Stranger Things in its Glasgow and Edinburgh stores to The Simpsons in Birmingham, Manchester and Belfast. 

British supermarket chain Asda, which was owned by Walmart from 1999 to 2021, runs a “winter warmer” promotion in all its in-store cafes during the winter months, allowing customers who are aged 60 and over to enjoy unlimited soup and bread plus tea and coffee for just £1. The initiative was introduced to help older customers with financial pressures, so they don’t have to choose between paying for heating or food. Last year, half a million £1 meals were served to pensioners.

Third spaces become particularly important at Christmas when stores dedicate part of their floorspace to Christmas grottos, however, these now range from a simple Santa experience to a multi-hour, ticketed day out. 

In 2023, Lush dedicated the third floor of its largest store – located in Liverpool, UK – to all things Christmas, offering the chance for visitors to trial new products such as the Bath Bot speaker, or make their own bath bomb. Comprising five maze-like rooms, visitors paid £25 for entry. This approach is similar to that of toy store Hamleys on London’s Regent Street, which requires a pre-booked ticket, but in 2025 promises to be “a place where festive wishes come alive and every visit becomes part of a cherished tradition”. 

At John Lewis, different stores will run their Santa’s grotto alongside various “immersive” in-store events and brand partnerships, such as wreath making with Jo Malone and Santa's Enchanted Grotto with LEGO, while My John Lewis members will receive a daily reward, gift or exclusive discount across all stores. In Cardiff, John Lewis also has its first ever Welsh speaking Santa. 

Rethinking retail at John Lewis 

This latest move by John Lewis Partnership is just one element of a wider strategy that has seen the retail business – which includes supermarket chain Waitrose – up the competition with its rivals Marks and Spencer to Selfridges, both of which are big on the concept of the third space. 

M&S Cafés have enjoyed growing popularity for a number of years, with some branches hosting community events, such as parent and baby mornings, which offer free drinks and cakes. Meanwhile, Selfridges has hosted a number of sports-themed immersive experiences this year. Its Oxford Street store featured a rooftop Wimbledon viewing area in June and July, while other branches offered parkour, pub darts, underwater rugby and augmented reality experiences.

In October 2024, John Lewis announced an £800 million investment in the retail experience is offers, comprising new third spaces, new brand partnership and an expansion of its bestselling departments, such as beauty and cosmetics. However, the business – which operates 36 department stores and 300 supermarkets – posted losses of £88 million in the first half of this year. It attributed the losses to new taxes and packaging rules, among other factors, and said it expects to post full-year profit growth, as most of its profit is generated in the run-up to Christmas. 

Its loyalty program, My John Lewis has seen membership increase 13 percent over the past year and now has 3.8 million members. 

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