Which? reveals the worst performing UK online retailers
The worst rated online retailers have been revealed by Which? members, and there are some very big names on the list.
Homebase, B&Q, House of Fraser, Sports Direct and WHSmith are at the very bottom, ranked by more than 7,500 Which? members in their annual survey.
At the very bottom of the list of 100 sites, Homebase ranked last with 57 per cent.
It achieved just two stars for its range of products and two stars for value for money, with customers complaining about Homebase’s online store ignoring complaints and selling products that were out of stock.
The online stores of two Mike Ashley-owned brands – House of Fraser and Sports Direct – were both in the bottom five on 60 per cent, just under B&Q’s website DIY (59 per cent), and WHSmith’s website (62 per cent).
House of Fraser’s website received complaints about its delivery costs, while one WHSmith customer said: “I ordered something only to be told three months later that it was out of stock.”
The highest rated online shops were all specialist retailers, topped by Liz Earle, Richer Sounds and Wex Photo Video which all achieved an overall customer score of 93 per cent.
At the top of the table, Wex Photo Video customers praised the camera retailers for its range of more than 20,000 pieces of kit and availability of knowledgeable staff via email and live chat.
Meanwhile Richer Sounds drew praise for its “customer-focused attitude” and “excellent value”.
“We continue to see the same brands performing poorly in our survey, with some of the bigger retailers offering disappointing levels of service and inferior websites which often seem to run out of stock,” Which? Magazine editor Harry Rose said.
“Our research shows that if you value a genuinely enjoyable shopping experience, then you might be better off with a smaller brand that can offer a more personalised service.”
A Homebase spokeswoman said: “Following the sale of Homebase in June 2018, we knew there was work to do to improve the shopping experience for our customers.
“A big part of this has been improving our website, and we’ve already made hundreds of changes, such as introducing a new ‘search and filter’ function and adding over 16,000 products online.”
Amazon came in at position 33 with a score of 83%. eBay was not featured as it is a venue and does not sell items itself.
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