John Lewis has reported that furniture items have been getting smaller as the public maximise their "shrinking living spaces", while they have also been making the most of their outside space.
In its first ever retail report, 'How We Shop, Live and Look', the John Lewis Partnership stated that space remained at a premium throughout this year and it downsized furniture and moved to multi-function pieces as a result. "Petite sofas have sold well compared with 2012," the report said.

The Partnership talked about the HOUSE range by John Lewis. It "targets younger, urban customers, for whom space is a big concern. By offering them products which can fit comfortably into smaller living space, but without compromising on design, the sales of the range have rocketed."

The report said across John Lewis' broader furniture range, multi-function pieces, such as dining tables that incorporate drawers for extra storage, sold well.

It also highlighted that people began to see their gardens as an extension of the house and new products such as garden spheres, which provide an additional 'room' outside the house, "have proved popular in spite of their £7,000 price tag," the company said.

With the housing market beginning to show signs of recovery this year, the report stated that the Partnership had noticed an increase in certain products: "Carpet sales are up six per cent year on year, rugs rose by four per cent and door knobs increased by 13 per cent."

The report also addressed the way in which people shop and what factors have influenced shopping habits this year, like The Great British Bake Off and the increase in sales of food/baking-related products. Looking at the online side of things: "We're making best use of the multitude of shopping channels now available to us. Upholstery is revealed to have the highest number of views before purchase and furniture has the longest buying journey of any product."

John Lewis managing director Andy Street explained: "Since 1919, we have released our weekly trading updates to the general public. With our 150th anniversary approaching, our first ever How We Shop, Live and Look report provides an even richer analysis of the products and channels favoured by the nation, their peculiarities and preferences. By opening this data up to the public, we hope to offer some real sociological insights, which people can turn to in years to come for a nostalgic glimpse of how we shopped, lived and looked."

The report concluded that space-saving furniture will continue to be popular, with things like fold-away tables, multi-function dining tables and clothes rails are likely to remain popular.