Argos‘s mobile site has edged out Amazon‘s for the second successive year as John Lewis came out on top, a new survey has found.

Struggling department store Debenhams fell four places to fifth in the EPiServer April research of 1,000 mobile device users.

The criteria include location-based tools; omnichannel experiences such as ‘click and collect‘, a direct line to contact customer services, personalised content and social follows and sharing.

“We are delighted to have been recognised by mobile and tablet users for our mobile sites and apps,” said Argos in a statement. “As a leading digital retailer we are continuously investing to develop our mobile offer. Recent innovations include using augmented reality technology to offer customers extra content on their mobile devices.”

Mobile now accounts for a fifth of sales at Argos.

The new criteria appeared more difficult for retailers to match as retailers scored lower in 2014 compared to last year. David Bowen, commerce product manager at EPiServer commented: “Retailers face a big challenge in meeting the rising expectations of this growing group of mobile-savvy consumers.”

John Lewis topped the UK retailer table with a 75 per cent score with its barcode scanner and location-enabled store finder features praised in the report.

Although Curry‘s did not perform well overall due to a lack of any apps, its mobile optimised site was rated as the best as it utilises video content and is one of the fastest to load.

The top five performing retailers are:

  1. John Lewis – 75 per cent

  2. Argos – 72 per cent

  3. Amazon UK – 71 per cent

  4. Amazon.com – 70 per cent

  5. Debenhams – 69 per cent