AO.com ousts John Lewis as Britain’s Best Retailer for customer satisfaction

How can that be that my favourite retalier in the UK John Lewis has been overtaken by AO.com as Britain's Best Retailer for 2015, according to market and retail analysts Verdict.

By winning Verdict’s prestigious Best Retailer Award for 2015, AO.com demonstrates that selling online only is no longer a barrier to delivering great customer satisfaction.

The electricals pure-play retailer won the accolade at Verdict’s Customer Satisfaction Awards, which were held at the Banking Hall, London earlier this week, preventing John Lewis from a hat-trick of wins, having won in 2013 and 2014. AO.com’s victory marks both the first time an online pure-play retailer and the first time an electricals specialist has taken the top prize.  Does that mean consumers are now spending more disposable incomes on gadgets and appliances than on clothing? Not necessarily.

I'm pleased to say John Lewis, which was runner-up overall, still took home three awards. It came top for clothing and homewares, and also managed to beat AO.com to win in electricals, but it missed out on the Best Overall Retailer prize due to its performance in other product areas in which it operates.

The awards are based on two surveys of 22,000 shoppers carried out by Verdict, in which AO.com scored highly across all areas of service, with standout scores in delivery options and returns policies, price and value for money.

Patrick O’Brien, Content Director at Verdict, said: “AO.com has been pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved online. Its extensive use of video, customer reviews and detailed product information and knowledge are clearly appreciated by its customers, backed up with free next day delivery and low prices.”

In the online awards, which were sponsored by Royal Mail, Very.co.uk came out on top, showing that the retailer’s high investment in personalisation is resonating with shoppers, while Next won the click & collect award for the second year running, despite much greater competition this year as many retailers have invested heavily in this area.

Here are the winners:-

Award	Winner	Second	Third
Best Retailer	AO.com	John Lewis	Apple
Best Food Retailer	Waitrose	Aldi	Marks & Spencer
Best Clothing Retailer	John Lewis	ASOS	Next
Best Footwear Retailer	Clarks	Marks & Spencer	Next
Best Electricals Retailer	John Lewis	AO.com	Amazon
Best Homewares Retailer	John Lewis	IKEA	Next
Best Furniture Retailer	IKEA	Amazon	B&Q
Best Health & Beauty Retailer	Avon	Boots	Amazon
Best DIY & Gardening Retailer	Screwfix	Amazon	IKEA
Online awards sponsored by Royal Mail
Best Online Retailer	Very	John Lewis	Amazon
Best Online Fulfilment Retailer	AO.com	Amazon	Next
Best Click & Collect Retailer	Next	John Lewis	Boots