The best shops for health and beauty have been revealed, thanks to new Which? research.
We quizzed thousands of shoppers about buying everything from moisturiser to multivitamins, to reveal the best health and beauty stores - as well as those to avoid.
Here we unveil how different health and beauty stores - both those on the high street and more high end retailers - compare on measures such as value for money and customer service. We also look at the ways in which the cost of living crisis is affecting how people shop for health and beauty.
Which are the best health and beauty shops?
The table below* lists the highest-scoring shops in our survey. The links take you through to the retailer's website.
| Retailer | Customer score |
|---|---|
| Liz Earle | 87% |
| Healthspan.co.uk | 84% |
| John Lewis | 84% |
| QVCUK.com | 84% |
| Rituals | 84% |
*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 12,979 experiences of buying health and beauty products from UK retailers. The survey was conducted in May and June 2022.
To find out how all 51 stores - including Avon, Charlotte Tilbury, L'Occitane En Provence, Boots and Superdrug - scored, and to discover which are best for value for money, product quality, customer service and returns - see our guide to the best and worst beauty, health and wellbeing shops.
Liz Earle named Which? Recommended Provider
Top of the table is Liz Earle. The high end brand gets five stars for everything except value for money and the amount of packaging it uses, where it still gets a very respectable four stars. Shoppers love the quality of its products as well as its delivery and customer service.
One happy shopper said: 'They are an ethical company and their products are second to none. Couldn't be without my Liz Earle products.' Another added: 'Friendly staff, good quality products and overall a pleasant shopping experience.'
Liz Earle is so good we've named it a Which? Recommended Provider. This means that not only is it rated really highly in our survey, it also has terms and conditions that are clear and fair on its website to help customers return unwanted or faulty items.
Healthspan.co.uk, John Lewis, QVC and Rituals come close behind and are all joint second in the table.
Customers love the range of products at Healthspan.co.uk, but believe it could do better on value for money. One customer said: 'It has a good range of health products and sends subscribers a regular magazine with health tips and updates on new products. When I called them with a query about a product I got through to a human straight away and she was very helpful.'
John Lewis does also does well across the board, although shoppers think it could do better on the amount of packaging it uses.
Rituals gets five stars for everything it's rated for except value for money, where it still gets a commendable four stars.
Which health and beauty stores are the best value for money?
QVC meanwhile is the only one of the those in the top two spots to get a maximum five stars value for money.
Shoppers love its 60-day money-back guarantee. One said: 'Always worth checking whether QVC sell a brand you like as their multibuy and collection packs often offer incredible value for money that you can't get elsewhere.'
- Find out which other health and beauty retailers were best for value for money in our guide to the best and worst beauty, health and wellbeing shops.
Are health and beauty prices going up?
Nearly seven in 10 shoppers buying health, beauty or wellbeing products in the six months to the end of September 2022 noticed prices going up - and one in five said prices had gone up 'a lot'.*
So what, if anything, did health and beauty shoppers do as a result of rising prices?
The top answer was buying fewer of these items (36%), followed by buying cheaper items or those from budget ranges (33%) as well as comparing prices before deciding what to buy (33%).
*Survey of 2,000 UK adults at the end of September 2022, weighted to be nationally representative.
Which health and beauty shops came bottom?
The table below* reveals the three retailers that received the lowest customer scores in our survey. The links take you through to the retailer's website.
| Retailer | Customer Score |
|---|---|
| Morrisons | 67% |
| Poundstretcher | 67% |
| Lloyds Pharmacy | 62% |
*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 12,979 experiences of buying health and beauty products from UK retailers. The survey was conducted in May and June 2022.
At the bottom of the table is Lloyds Pharmacy, which gets just two stars for its product range and availability and also for value for money. The high street retailer gets a good four stars though for the quality of its products.
One unhappy customer said: 'They had a buy one, get one free offer on the product I wanted, however they put the wrong product of the range in the wrong place and I ended up buying the wrong product and paid twice what I expected to. The product I wanted was out of stock and had to make do with the wrong product as I needed it asap. Staff were careless and disorganised.'
Also towards the bottom are Poundstretcher and Morrisons. Morrisons customer service is rated poorly, as is the range and availability of products at Poundstretcher.
For the full results, visit our guide to the best and worst health, beauty and wellbeing shops.
- Find out more:how to shop the winter sales
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/high-end-beauty-stores-vs-high-street-how-do-they-compare-agyKz6r0QIs2