These are the best shops on the British high street: Lush, John Lewis, Apple, Fenwick and Home Bargains make the top 10
The customer is king when it comes to winning amid an increasingly competitive retail landscape.
Excellent customer service standards helped small independents make the biggest gains in an annual survey of favourite high street shops by consumer watchdog Which?.
Independent DIY and decorating stores experienced a huge rise, coming third overall, or 83 places higher than last year.
"With independent stores on the up in our annual survey, it shows a bag name isn't everything as consumers look for quality in both products and service," Which? editor, Richard Headland, said.
"If retailers can get their products right, along with excellent customer service and a great shopping environment, customers will keep coming back through the doors."
Colourful soaps, fizzing bath bombs and fruity fragrances ensured natural cosmetic retailer Lush held on to the top spot, with shoppers citing its "excellent" products as well as staff who were "helpful" and "friendly".
Customers were also impressed by department store John Lewis, independent DIY and decorating shops and entertainment Richer Sounds.
But long waiting times, busy stores and sometimes unhelpful staff dragged Mobile network EE to the bottom of the table.
And price was singled out as the most important factor when deciding where to shop, with four in 10 saying this was their top consideration.
Here are some of the top performers:
| Ranking | High street shop | Customer score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lush | 80% |
| 2 | John Lewis | 79% |
| 3 | Independents – DIY and decorating | 76% |
| 4 | Richer Sounds | 75% |
| = | Screwfix | 75% |
| 6 | Apple | 74% |
| = | Home Bargains | 74% |
| 8 | Independents – Furnishings and homeware | 73% |
| 9 | Fenwick | 72% |
| = | Go Outdoors | 72% |