John Lewis voted best department store

John Lewis has been voted best department store for customer satisfaction, according to a report by retail researcher Verdict. It moved up from last year's second place, while Waitrose climbed up from twentieth place to occupy its old spot. TK Maxx moved up from fourth place to third while Matalan came in fourth, rising six places in the process. Internet retailer Amazon moved from fourteenth to sixth place.

Sixty-seven retailers were in running and respondents were asked to rate them on range, price, convenience, quality, service, ambience, facilities and layout. "I think people have got a little bit fatigued by the customer experience at Ikea," senior analyst at Verdict Nick Gladding told the AP. Ikea was voted fifth place. "The fact is that there is a lot of queuing and the stores are heavily congested, particularly at weekends when people want to shop."