John Lewis launch a virtual Christmas tree so you can try before you buy

(Image credit: John Lewis)

published 7 November 2020

Wondering how on earth you are going to get hold of one of John Lewis' coveted Christmas trees in lockdown 2.0? Well fear not, you can, of course, have them delivered to your door. 'But what about size, what about style, how will we know how luscious the 'folliage' is, how snow-covered each 'needle' is?' Again, the clever people at John Lewis have thought of these burning questions too and have launched the virtual Christmas tree.

It's actually a new augmented-reality feature on their app that helps you choose the best Christmas tree for your space before you order it online – very cleeever. Plus perfect for these... unprecedented times we live in.

Keep scrolling to find out more and for all our Christmas tree decorating ideas to get you inspired, head over to our gallery.

We've all been there; we order a tree, or even pick one in person and get it home, only to find, surprise surprise, we do not have 11ft ceilings. And things are even more likely to go wrong this year as most of us are going to have to order our Christmas trees online. But, that's where the handy new addition to the John Lewis app comes in – the new augmented reality feature on the app will enable customers to put up a decorated Christmas tree in seconds.

You just use the app to pick one of John Lewis' artificial trees, and just like that, a fully decorated tree appears in your living room. Well, a fully decorated virtual tree appears on your phone that's pointing at your living room, or any room you want to test it out in for that matter.

Want the best Christmas tree decoration ideas for your new tree? We have rounded up all our faves in our gallery.

'The Virtual Christmas Tree is certainly a lot of fun to use.' says Cassandra Bergland, Director of Omnichannel, 'You can browse trees of different shapes, sizes, and colours and then choose whether to have the tree decorated or left natural. The Virtual Christmas Tree feature gives customers the chance to explore the range in their own space before buying, meaning they can feel confident with their final choice.'

Check out all of John Lewis' Christmas trees over on their site too – but be quick they sell out fast! And if you need any tips on how to decorate your Christmas tree check out our guide.

Hebe joined the Real Homes team in early 2018 as Staff Writer before moving to the Livingetc team in 2021 where she took on a role as Digital Editor. She loves boho and 70's style and is a big fan of Instagram as a source of interiors inspiration. When she isn't writing about interiors, she is renovating her own spaces – be it wallpapering a hallway, painting kitchen cupboards or converting a van.