John Lewis Tops Poll of Britain’s Favorite Stores

"John Lewis" came out tops in an industry poll of British shoppers favorite stores. The department store was voted the best in what turned out to be a strong showing for John Lewis, with the groups’ supermarket store "Waitrose" took second spot.

The poll of 6,000 shoppers by the analyst Verdict covers all kinds of retail outlets, from DIY stores to shoe shops, and measures satisfaction in a range of categories.

The annual survey takes into account a number of criteria, including customer service, satisfaction, product range and quality. Price, ambience and store layout are also considered on a different level. John Lewis knocked Ikea from the top spot, with discount fashion retailers "TK Maxx" (http://www.tkmaxx.com) and "Matalan" coming in 3rd and 4th respectively.

Big movers included branded shoe store "Schuh" (http://www.schuhstore.co.uk) and toiletries outlet "Savers". Britain’s largest supermarket chain "Tesco" (http://www.tesco.com) didn’t make the top ten, but fared relatively well at 33rd position.

The biggest losers of the survey were "Ikea", who fell to 5th position following three consecutive years at the top of the poll.

The survey, which is in its sixth year, measured categories for the 67 most popular shops used by the consumers surveyed. It also indicates a shift in shopping habits, as the majority of top performers are traditional high street retailers, with out of town retail outlets faring less well than in previous years. The survey also shows a strong representation for online retail with "Amazon" moving from 16th to 6th place in the poll.

Here you can see the top ten retailers that the poll has come up with (and last year's position in brackets):

Top 10 Retail Stores

1. John Lewis (last year – 2)
2. Waitrose (20)
3. TK Maxx (4)
4. Matalan (10)
5. Ikea (1)
6. Amazon (14)
7. Savers (39)
8. Schuh (31)
9. Wilkinson (23)
10. B&Q (7)

Source: Verdict Survey