We’ve got used to online sales rising faster than physical store sales. But we’ve also got used to the fact that the volume of goods bought through those physical stores is so many times larger than digital shopping that the channel is still way out in front in terms of market share.

But not for much longer, it seems. The exec team at John Lewis thinks digital will outstrip physical for its own business sooner than expected.

2019 is the year they’re predicting – and they should know because they’ve watched their e-sales soar consistently in recent years.

The retailer has invested a cool £500m into its online ops to be ready for this shopping D-Day (or should it be E-Day?), This Is Money reported today.

Let’s get all this in perspective – John Lewis’s physical stores have only FOUR YEARS left before the internet is in the driving seat. The company had previously expected it to happen in 2020, which itself is pretty soon.

And there must be a lot of other retailers in a similar position as their web stores continue to climb.

So where’s John Lewis’s £500m being spent? In IT jobs, of course, in warehousing, in tech systems, in analysis of just what shoppers are doing (and what they will be doing in the future).

It seems the future is almost here and if you’re not online, you’re not in the game.