Physical chains are at the top of a list of the most-popular retailers in Britain.
In the latest annual survey of 13,000 British shoppers by OC&C Strategy Consultants, Marks & Spencer's M&S Simply Food concept has bumped Amazon.com from the top place it had occupied since 2011. In fact, Amazon has been demoted to fourth place, with department store John Lewis in second place — a position it has held for six years — and Lush in third, for the fourth year running.
Lush The cosmetics chain is the third-most-popular store among U.K. shoppers
Nearly all the top 30 retailers on the list are brick-and-mortar chains. One of the biggest jumps came from apparel retailer Jack Wills, which vaulted from 101st place in 2016 to 18th in this latest ranking.
John Lewis The venerable department store is in second place on the popularity chart
U.K. retailers are increasingly making a priority of quality and service, which has propelled many physical stores onto the list of favorite retailers, OC&C says in its report.
“Clearly, while the Amazon model has delivered unparalleled success in recent years, it isn’t bulletproof,” said Matt Coode, an OC&C partner. “The research this year reveals that shoppers are increasingly prepared to pay a premium for excellence, so retailers must think carefully about the level of investment in price and promotion versus quality and service to ensure their continued success.”
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
