To make it easier, we’ve quizzed thousands of shoppers to reveal the best and worst baby retailers, rating them on their product quality, customer service, value for money and more.
From buggies to babygrows, Which? reveals who topped our list, plus the retailers you shouldn't bother with.
Which are the top baby and child shops?
The table below shows the 10 highest-scoring shops in our survey (links take you to retailers' websites):
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Which? Recommended Providers for baby revealed
It’s worth pointing out that we only award WRPs to stores which have top customer scores, plus at least four stars for staff helpfulness/knowledge and delivery and three stars for value for money. They also need to give customers at least 28 days to return non-faulty goods.
Online4baby.com
The family-run business, established in 1987, sells products from all the major brands, including Cybex, iCandy and Joie. There’s a 365-day exchange policy – useful if you're buying before baby arrives.
Shoppers applauded its easy-to-navigate website, great product range and the cost savings to be had. They also praised its customer services team, saying that they were knowledgeable, offering support seven days a week.
One respondent said: ‘The product was very competitively priced and arrived within 24 hours. Unfortunately the user manual was in French, but after contacting the customer service team they tracked down an English translation and emailed it to me within a couple of days, despite the intervention of a weekend and bank holiday.’
Find out more:John Lewis
Customers love the quality of its products, the range it offers and the helpfulness and knowledge of its staff.
One shopper said: ‘They never let you down.’ Shoppers also praised its quick delivery and easy-to-navigate website.
One happy customer said: ‘It feels like a really loving experience, like they cherish you as a mother, everything is laid out beautifully and is the best quality.'
Find out more:Mamas and Papas
The UK-based nursery brand manufactures prams, pushchairs, baby products and maternity wear. It was established in Huddersfield in 1981 by David and Luisa Scacchetti, who wanted to bring Italian design to the UK buggy market.
The company went into administration in 2019 and had to close six stores, however it still has 22 Mamas and Papas shops and several locations in Next branches.
It has a 28-day return policy and can arrange a courier to collect the item if you’re unable to return it instore.
Shoppers praised the quality and range of products in store which are ‘durable, safe and last a long time’.
One commented: ‘You are made to feel that the shop workers have time for you and you are not a burden. The store is not too crowded and you’re able to look at items without feeling pressured.’
Find out more:Joie Baby
Joie is a global baby gear brand founded in 2011 and its products are designed to grow up with users from birth onwards. Its top-selling products include car seats and prams.
It has a 30-days return policy and a return label is included with each item, with instructions for returning your product via DPD.
Shoppers go to Joie Baby because of the quality of its products and good reputation. One respondent said: ‘It has a great reputation and I didn't feel let down at all. The quality is sturdy, a bit higher on price, but worth every penny.’
Find out more:Which other retailers impressed customers?
For Silver Cross we did not have a big enough sample size to give a star rating for staff helpfulness or delivery, so we were unable to award our WRP endorsement.
Silver Cross - dubbed the ‘Rolls-Royce of prams’ - came joint first in our table with a customer score of 81%. It offers prams, car seats and nursery furniture. Customers felt that it makes high-quality products but offers less value for money than other retailers.
Maxi-Cosi came in close second with a customer score of 80%. The retailer, predominantly known for car seats, was praised for its high-quality products and good value for money. It also makes pushchairs, highchairs, travel cots and more.
It didn’t become a WRP because it scored a 3 in the staff helpfulness/knowledge category, and WRPs need at least a 4.
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Which stores came bottom?
The table below reveals the three retailers that received the lowest customer scores in our survey.
At the bottom of the table is Baby Monitors Direct, which achieved a customer score of 65%. It received two stars for its product quality and value for money, and three stars for staff helpfulness and knowledge.
Also towards the bottom is Bella Baby and The Range, both scoring 67%.
The Range got two stars for its staff helpfulness and knowledge and for its product quality. It received three stars for value for money.
Bella Baby received a mediocre three stars in every category across the board.
Find out more:Online vs the high street - which is the most popular?
Baby retailers have been disappearing from the high street for some time. Mothercare closed its UK stores in 2019-20 and there are fewer branches of Mamas and Papas and even John Lewis to visit these days.
Numerous factors are behind this, from high rents to post-pandemic shopping habits.
Given the decreasing number of stores and often lower prices online, it's not surprising that three-quarters (74%) of shoppers made their most recent baby-equipment purchase online.
Find out more:source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/which-is-the-best-baby-shop-to-buy-your-pushchair-and-car-seat-from-aETCw9K16TPN