Which? reveals the best and worst high street shops

13 May 2017

Richer Sounds and Toolstation have been named the highest ranking shops in the UK in 2017, according to the annual Which? survey of shoppers.

Which? asked more than 10,000 consumers about their shopping experience at 100 major retailers. The customer scores given are based on customers’ experiences of purchasing non food items, their satisfaction levels and the likelihood of recommending each shop.*

DIY store Toolstation is joint-top for the second year running (having shared first place with John Lewis in 2016), while Richer Sounds is in the number one spot after coming joint-third last year. The electrical chain last topped the Which? survey in 2011.

Harvey Nichols has jumped from 21^st place last year to third place this time around, with customers citing a love of its products as well as the stores themselves.

Waterstones returns to the top five for the first time since 2014. The book retailer is welcomed back into the top bracket of the Which? shopping survey on the back of recent news that book sales reached a record £3.5 billion last year.

Richard Headland, editor of Which? magazine, said:

“The best retailers, Richer Sounds and Toolstation, continue to strike the right balance by selling quality products at reasonable prices. It’s a simple formula, but that’s why they consistently score well with shoppers in the Which? survey.”

Top rated shops:

(1) Richer Sounds – 80% (128)
= Toolstation – 80% (132)
(3) Harvey Nichols – 79% (118)
= John Lewis – 79% (542)
= Waterstones – 79% (266)
(6) Apple – 78% (129)
= Bodycare – 78% (213)
(8) The Perfume Shop – 77% (209)
(9) Card Factory – 76% (218)
= Cotswold Outdoor – 76% (125)
= Go Outdoors – 76% (192)
= Screwfix – 76% (186)

Bottom rated shops:

(88) Clinton Cards – 62% (128)
= JD Sports – 62% (191)
= Robert Dyas – 62% (232)
= Sainsbury’s – 62% (278)
= Tesco – 62% (264)
= Topshop/Topman – 62% (181)
(94) EE – 61% (146)
= Peacocks – 61% (224)
= Vodafone – 61% (134)
(97) Poundstretcher – 60% (263)
(98) Poundland – 59% (103)
(99) WH Smith – 56% (225)
(100) Morrisons – 55% (153)

The number in brackets represents the number of responses for that retailer

For the full results, visit: http://which.co.uk/highstreetshops2017

Notes to editor

In January 2017, Which? asked 10,214 members of the general public about their previous six months of in-store shopping experiences, with at least 30 responses needed for inclusion.
Which? asked about overall experience and experience of shopping for different products.
Customer score is based on satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending each shop.
For the full results of all 100 shops, visit: http://which.co.uk/highstreetshops2017
*Amended on 16th May, 2017

Press Release: best and worst shops, best retailers, best shops, Harvey Nichols, high street, John Lewis, retailers, Richard Headland, Richer Sounds, survey, Toolstation, Waterstones, Which?