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Loungewear, plants and chess sets: What we bought in lockdown
Comfy clothes and house plants: what the country went mad for in lockdown - Credit: Getty/Archant
Loungewear and chess sets were top of people's shopping lists in 2020 as items like ironing boards and lipstick saw demand fall.
John Lewis has revealed its shoppers' buying habits during lockdown which predictably saw a shift to online, as people spent their money on their homes and self-care instead of going out accessories.
Beauty tech saw a leap of 178pc between October and November last year, while seasonal affective disorder lamp sales have jumped 81pc since January last year.
Chess sets also saw an 100pc increase but loungewear and leggings saw the biggest jump at 1,303pc compared to May 2019.
Conversely going out bags, high heels and lipsticks saw demand fall 56pc, 62pc and 54pc respectively.
People have also swapped their ironing boards (down 26pc) for houseplants, which have seen an increase of more than 200pc.
And the trend has been even more pronounced as specialist stores, with the owner of plant and homeware store Leslie Terrance Home in Norwich reporting she was "tear-your-hair-out busy".
"We've been extremely lucky - we've been open throughout for click and collect orders and moving to a bigger store really helped that. I also work about 20 hours a day to be able to get it all done," she said.
Leslie Terrance Home Gift and Garden in Norwich is owned by Kerri Notman. - Credit: Steve Adams
"We've got a good mix of our regulars who will always be there to support us which is just so wonderful. The pandemic has also allowed us to compete more nationally though - we send out a lot of orders all over the country because people are coming across us more often from further afield.
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"I think people have been buying more plants during lockdown partly because they're working from home and they want to make it look a bit fresher. I think another reason is that it's really coming back into fashion like we saw in the 70s and 80s - part of it has just been down to being here at the right time.
John Lewis in Norwich - Credit: Archant
"The other factor is that ahead of Brexit I went to my suppliers to try and figure out what we could do to make sure we had as little disruption as possible. It paid off because we haven't had trouble getting hold of anything."
