John Lewis retains ‘top mobile retailer’ title

Department store John Lewis has been named the ‘top mobile retailer’ of 2015 for the second consecutive year in Episerver’s annual Mobile Commerce report.

John Lewis topped the annual league table with a score of 84 percent, offering the best consumer mobile shopping experience. The department store chain was closely followed in the ranking by Argos and Expedia, with Amazon UK and Marks and Spencer, which was praised for its Android experience, rounding off the top five retailers.

The annual study of the UK’s top 20 retailers, now in its fourth year, reveals that, overall, retailers have improved upon their delivery of a seamless and sophisticated mobile experience for consumers, reflected by an average score of 57 percent compared to just 47 percent last year.

John Lewis tops Episerver mobile retail ranking

The Episerver study, scored consumer retail experiences across mobile sites, plus Android and iOS apps on both smartphones and tablets. The benchmark consisting of 50 different criteria, reflects the evolving demands of consumers, as identified in a survey of 1,000 UK smartphone and tablet users. These include location-based tools, omnichannel experiences such as ‘click and collect,’ direct lines to contact customer services from within apps, and social sharing.

Episerver director of product management for commerce, David Bowen said: “We have seen a massive improvement in the approach taken by retailers to develop a sophisticated and seamless mobile experience, emphasised by the average score rising by 10 percentage points.

“The top performing retailers in 2015 have demonstrated their ability to evolve their mobile strategies to meet the demands of consumers, offering added value features that mix clicks with bricks, personalised content and a consistent, quality experience to every user, regardless of the device and platform.”

Scores from the leading 20 retailers varied from 84 percent to the lowest score of 23 percent, with an overall average of 57 percent.

Image: John Lewis