SHOPPING HABITS OVER THE YEARS

Shopping habits over the years: things we’ve left behind and three that have made a comeback.

Sophie Christie

12 OCTOBER 2017

A report by John Lewis about the shopping habits of British consumers over the past five years helps us see the trends we’ve left behind and the products that have become fashionable again in 2017.

Selfie sticks

The camera extension devices in the hands of tourists across the world soared in popularity in 2014 when they were seen as the must-have gift for Christmas. Authorities in Milan hate the device so much that this summer they banned the use of selfie sticks in the middle of the city. Thankfully, they fell out of favour with shoppers last year. Selfie sticks have finally fallen out of favour with British shoppers.

Coloured jeans

The popularity of coloured jeans peaked in the early nineties, but sales have fallen significantly since 2013 according to John Lewis’s internal data. Pink, green, yellow and red jeans have been no longer popular, and instead, the old classic blue denim became popular. Although white jeans are still in fashion, apparently.

Cake pops

Bite-sized baked goods soared in popularity between 2011 and 2014, with sales growing 19 per cent, overtaking those of large cakes. However, in 2014, British shoppers left pop cakes behind, with sales of the minisweet treats falling drastically. It seems that they’ve been forgotten for quite a while now.

Satnavs

This year, British shoppers turned their backs on the satnav, the equipment in a car that tells the driver which way he or she should go, and would rather use their mobile phones for directions. Sales of satnavs have dropped so much that John Lewis has removed them from its shelves and is choosing to sell them online only. The majority of people own a smartphone, so it’s easy to see why people are choosing to rely on their mobile phones instead of satnavs for help in getting to their destination.

The following items are back in fashion:

Bookshelves

Every now and again, something that was falling out of fashion in the past will take on a new lease of life. According to John Lewis, this year books are back, and so are sales of bookshelves. They are back in fashion.

Record players

At the end of 2016, it was widely reported that vinyl album sales had surpassed digital downloads for the first time ever.

Filofaxes

Not everyone wants to use their phone to store birthdays, addresses and important notes. They prefer the Filofax because they are easy to use and don’t ever run out of battery life.