John Lewis has unseated M&S as the top scoring retailer in the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), bolstered by the return of Never Knowingly Undersold.
The department store chain scored 86.7 out of 100 in the bi-annual customer satisfaction index, ranking it third across all sectors and clinching the top spot by any retailer.
The score puts John Lewis ahead of its rival M&S, which had previously overtaken the department store chain at the start of the year.
M&S secured a score of 85.4 for its non-food division in the latest survey, while its grocery arm scored 85.6.
This result meant that the food and fashion giant’s respective retail divisions scored fifth and sixth in the ranking overall.
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By contrast, John Lewis’ grocery stablemate Waitrose tumbled to 26th in the rankings with a score of 82.4 overall. Last year, the upmarket supermarket chain secured fourth place in the overall rankings with a score of 84.4. The John Lewis Partnership as a whole still scored a top ten spot in the rankings despite Waitrose’s decline.
Chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service Jo Causon said: “The John Lewis turnaround is noteworthy, as an increase in customer satisfaction has coincided with a rise in profits, something we also saw with M&S.
“Successful retailers understand a consistent focus on the customer drives brand loyalty, trust and sustainable growth — and as our research shows, enables organisations to weather difficult events, such as cyberattacks.”
The UKCSI surveys approximately 60,000 consumers for its rankings, who rate their experience on a range of metrics including experience, complaints, customer ethos and ethics.
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