B&Q and Homebase have come bottom in the latest Which? consumer survey of 78 online retailers, with low ratings for both price and product.


More than 11,000 Which? members were surveyed between July and August about the online shops they'd used in the previous six months. Various delivery issues, such as delay, overpackaging and time slots out of consumers' control proved to be the biggest bugbears when shopping online.

In the home and garden category, Homebase and B&Q were ranked bottom out of eight, with scores of 52% and 50% respectively, falling behind top dog John Lewis, scoring 89%, as well as Lakeland, Amazon, Screwfix, Sainsbury's and Ikea.

The sites were scored on price, product and delivery, with JohnLewis.com and Lakeland.co.uk commended for excellent customer service, knowledgeable staff and quick delivery.

Lakeland was highlighted by members for its willingness to go beyond customer expectations, replacing items outside manufacturers' guarantees and sending replacement parts from returned stock where separates aren't sold.

JohnLewis.com came top in five of its six categories, including electricals, clothing and footwear and toys and games. It was the only non-specialist retailer in the overall top five, with the top spot going to skin and beauty label LizEarle.com with a score of 94%.

Homebase' stablemate Argos ranked joint 57th with a score of 66% for its online facility, while Dobbies.com came in at joint 51st with a score of 68%. Screwfix came higher up the table, sharing 13th place with two other retailers, scoring 83%.

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