Best and worst shops

Find out the best places to buy beauty, clothes, furniture, DIY products and more, based on surveys of thousands of shoppers and expert Which? analysis. 

We've surveyed thousands of Which? members and members of the public about their experiences of shopping with some of the UK's best-known stores and websites, as well as with lesser-known brands.  

In this guide, we explain more about our shopping survey and reveal the best shops for baby and child, outdoor and sports equipment.  For more store categories, read our guides to the best technology shops , best fashion, beauty and health shops  and best home and DIY shops .

Note: branded links take you to the retailers' websites. 

The best and worst shops in the UK

To help you shop smarter, we've rounded up the best shops in each category.

Already know which type of shop you want to visit? Click the links below to find out how they were rated by Which? members and members of the public. 

• Best baby and child shops
• Best beauty, health and wellbeing shops
• Best clothes, shoes and accessory shops
• Best DIY and decorating shops
• Best furniture and homeware shops
• Best household appliance shops
• Best outdoor and sports equipment shops
• Best tech shops

What makes the best shops stand out?

The top shops in our survey generally offer something above and beyond – whether that's help with choosing products, great after-sales service or returns, or simply a first-class customer experience. 

Value for money is also key, particularly for everyday essentials. Our star ratings reveal how customers rated each retailer on these measures, and others.

These results can come in particularly handy if you need to buy a type of product you don't usually shop for, and also if you're looking to try out new retailers you might not have considered before now. 

We also name Which? Recommended Providers (WRP) for each category. Only those with top customer scores, plus at least four stars for customer service and three for value for money, make the grade. 

What's more, we only allow stores to become WRPs if they give customers at least 28 days to return non-faulty goods. We exclude any retailers that give misleading or unclear information about returns.

• Find out more: your online shopping rights   

Best baby and child shops

Here, we share our ratings for shops selling baby and child products, including clothing, toys and pushchairs. 

You can use the scroll button to check the ratings each brand received across eight categories including value for money, product range and availability, product quality, staff helpfulness/knowledge and aftersales service and returns.

Table notes: The table is ordered by customer score. Customer score is based on overall satisfaction with the shop and how likely people are to recommend it. Sample size in brackets. Where no star rating is given, the sample size was too small. The results are based on an online survey of 10,588 adults - members of the Which? Connect panel and members of the public - who told us about 2,559 experiences of buying baby and child products from UK retailers. The survey was conducted in May and June 2022.

John Lewis

Top of the table is John Lewis, which dazzles shoppers with five stars for everything except the amount of packaging used and value for money, where it still gets a respectable four stars. Customers love the quality of its products, the range it offers and the helpfulness and knowledge of its staff.  

Maxi-Cosi

Maxi-Cosi comes second in the table. Shoppers gave it top marks for the quality of its products, its range and availability and the value for money it offers. 

It was also the only baby and child shop to be named as a Which? Recommended Provider. This means not only did it perform outstandingly in our survey, it also passed our stringent behind-the-scenes checks on its terms and conditions for returning purchases. 

Joie Baby

Joie Baby comes third. It picked up five stars for value for money as well as a range of other measures. Shoppers go to Joie Baby as they love the cost of its products and its good reputation.  

Best outdoor and sports equipment shops

If you're looking for raincoats or hiking gear, check the scores in the table below to find the best-rated place to shop. 

You can use the scroll button to check the ratings each brand received across eight categories including value for money, product range,  product quality and aftersales service.

Table notes: the table is ordered by customer score. Customer score is based on overall satisfaction with the shop and how likely people are to recommend it. Sample size in brackets. Where no star rating is given, the sample size was too small. The results are based on an online survey of 10,588 adults - members of the Which? Connect panel and members of the public - who told us about 4,232 experiences of buying oudoor and sporting equipment from UK retailers. The survey was conducted in May and June 2022.

Rohan

Rohan comes top of the table and is the only outdoor and sporting store to be named as a Which? Recommended Provider. This means it had an outstanding performance in our survey but also has top-notch terms and conditions for customers wanting to return goods. 

Shoppers love the quality, range and availability of its products, as well as its customer service and other aspects such as the ease of using its website. It got three of a maximum of five stars for value for money though.  

Very.co.uk

Very.co.uk comes second in our table. It scores an impressive five stars for the quality, range and availability of its products. Shoppers also gave it a maximum five stars for value for money meaning it beat first-placed Rohan on this measure. 

John Lewis

Third-placed John Lewis is another good bet for buying outdoor and sporting items. It does well on a range of measures including product quality, availability and range as well as aftersales service. It picks up a respectable four stars for value for money.