John Lewis is another up-market department store that offers a good range of electrical goods including coffee makers. This is reflected in their website. It’s easy to navigate and with a good selection of items at reasonable prices. There’s a buying guide to coffee makers on their ‘Small Appliance’ page.
Finding the website
You can visit the John Lewis home page at www.johnlewis.com.
Finding the section on coffee makers
When you’ve found the John Lewis home page look for the Electrical Appliances tab on the bar at the top of the page. Click on the tab. This will bring up three menus. Choose ‘Kitchen Appliances’ and click on ‘Tea and Coffee. This will bring up the tea and coffee appliances page. Click on either the coffee maker image or ‘Coffee Makers’ under the Browse menu. This will bring up the opening page. You can select by brand, by type or by price.
The selection available
The website offers a good selection of coffee makers from basic filter to Espresso. All of the popular brands are represented including Bosch, Cuisinart, DeLonghi, Dualit, Gaggia Haden Kitchen Aid, Krups, Magimix, Miele, Russell Hobs and John Lewis’ s own brand.
Information provided on the site
On the left hand side of the opening page is a menu offering ways to search, either by brand, type or price. For some reason ‘Cafetieres’ is placed separately in this menu. You can click on the Cafetieres icon for two pages of them – from 3-cup models to 12-cup ones. Brands include Mocha Express, La Cafetiere and Nick Munro.
On the Coffee Machine pages, items are well laid out with images on a clean white background. Name, model number and price are given. There is also a button to press that allows you to compare up to four items. Click on the buttons under the items you want to compare then click on the ‘Compare Selected Products’ link at the top right hand of the page.
This page arranges the items side by side for easy comparison under headings such as Brand, Capacity, Coffee Type, Dimensions and Pressure – certainly the important information you’d want if buying an espresso machine. You’re also advised of the number of items in stock. An ‘Add To Basket’ tab allows you to begin your purchase.
Back at the list pages you can click on the image of an item to learn more about it. The information provided on the item page is helpful as it tells you what the product will do in easy to follow text. There is a ‘Key Feature’ list as well, that gives information on capacity, coffee type, dimensions pressure and more.
On the right hand side of the page is an ‘Alternatives’ heading with similar items shown below at a similar price that you might like to consider.
Click on the ‘Larger view’ link if you want to have a closer look at the item. It opens a new window with a slightly bigger image.
On the right hand side of the page is an box giving information on delivery. There’s free standard delivery within 5 working days. You pay for delivery next day, any named day or a Saturday. At participating shops – you can find them by clicking on the link provided – there’s fee delivery to the shop for tomorrow collection.
Click on the ‘Coffee Machines buying guide’ at the top of the Coffee Machines pages if you are not sure what kind of coffee maker you want to buy. You can learn about the different types under the headings, Cafetiere, Filter coffee makers and percolators and Espresso and cappuccino makers. Once you’ve decided, you can link into the choices on offer on the website. There’s further information on what to consider when buying an espresso maker, such as bar pressure, valve and wattage. Then there are tips on how to make the perfect espresso or cappuccino, information on the all important coffee grinder, which coffee grind suits which machine and maintenance of your machine.
Buying from the website
To buy from the website, click on the ‘Add to basket’ tab. This page tells you if the product is in stock. You can then decide on home delivery or whether you want the item sent to a local shop for collection. Press continue to go to the secure checkout. Enter your e-mail address and password. Click ‘continue’ to get an order summery, pay for your item and receive a receipt.
Finally
The John Lewis website offers a good selection of coffee makers with a useful spread of prices. Finding what you want is straightforward and if you don’t know what type of machine to buy the buying guide will point you in the right direction with clear explanations. It’s a good site for the first time buyer.