Retailers ahead of Christmas
Retailers such as John Lewis are pressured to provide great customer service Getty

Apple is no longer among the top three favourite retailers of UK customers in terms of satisfaction and shopping experience. The tech retail giant saw its spot, as the third most appealing retailer for UK customers, taken by cosmetics firm Lush.

Amazon and John Lewis held on to their spots in the top three in strategy consultant firm OC&C's Retail Propositions Index. Harrods and Ikea area also among the top 10 best retailers according to UK shoppers.

OC&C surveyed some 30,000 international shoppers, which found German online shopping platform DM and Dutch Amazon-style online warehouse Bol.com were among the best customer service retailers.

Matt Coode, a partner at OC&C, said the report showed customer service should be much higher on retailers' agenda. Many shops, especially those in the UK, have suffered from the results of poor customer service or unpleasant shopping experience.

"While the best British retailers are delivering great customer service, in general, the UK is falling behind its international counterparts," Coode said. "Nearly half (46%) of US consumers have been delighted by the level of service they received in US shops, compared to under a third (32%) of UK shoppers.

"When looking specifically at customer service ratings, eight of the top 10 retailers come from the US, including employee-owned supermarket chain Publix, Trader Joe's and Apple," Coode added. "By comparison, just two British retailers, Lush and John Lewis, made the cut."

These are the top 30 favourite retailers according to UK shoppers, as listed by OC&C:

  1. Amazon
  2. John Lewis
  3. Lush
  4. Apple
  5. Moonpig
  6. Ikea
  7. eBay
  8. Home Bargains
  9. Harrods
  10. M&S Simply Food
  11. Wilkinson
  12. Clarks
  13. M&S
  14. Lakeland
  15. Waitrose
  16. Karen Millen
  17. Waterstones
  18. Specsavers
  19. AO.com
  20. Dunelm Mill
  21. Body Shop
  22. Next
  23. Laithwaite's Wine
  24. M&M Direct
  25. Burberry
  26. Asos
  27. B&M Bargains
  28. Debenhams
  29. Boots
  30. Photobox