Survey reveals UK favourite e-commerce sites

Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - 12:05 by Graham Miller

A new study conducted by Which? has ranked the UK's various sites offering shopping online, to determine which ones are considered to be the best by consumers, as well as those which need to pull their socks up to remain in the running.

Fourteen thousand people were questioned as part of this comprehensive survey and there are distinct variances in opinion about which sites are worthy of your attention and which leave a lot to be desired.

The lowest ranking e-commerce site belongs to B&Q, with a 55 per cent approval rating achieved. Meanwhile at the top of the table, was skincare and beauty product retailer, LizEarle.com, which got a score of 95 per cent.

Respondents were asked to explain what they thought made an e-commerce site good or bad, with many saying that personalisation and a bespoke experience were priorities for them.

Consumers also said that fast and secure delivery was important, along with the availability of incentivising free gifts.

Those questioned also pointed to the problems with e-commerce sites that can damage the experience, with the cost of postage and packaging being seen as a real letdown by most respondents.

Missing packages and bodged deliveries were also mentioned as being big annoyances, as well as an inflexible approach to shipping, that means people have to stay at home in the day to receive the item.

The best sites which offer safe shopping online are not necessarily hugely mainstream outlets, but those which are sensitive to the needs of users.

Which? spokesperson, Richard Lloyd, explained that the popularity of online shopping was easy to understand given the value for money that it offers. However, he said that his organisation helped to point out where retailers were going wrong and helped consumers get the best e-commerce experience.