Britain’s favourite retailer is… Amazon! Poll reveals how much shoppers love online giant branded a tax avoider

Amazon has topped a poll to find Britain’s favourite retailer – despite being dogged by allegations of tax avoidance and not paying staff well.

The online retailer, which is also embroiled in a row over authors’ rights, came first in a huge survey of British consumers carried out by media and advertising group Havas, which has been seen exclusively by The Mail on Sunday.

The study asked 20,000 shoppers not just about the quality of products and services provided by big retailers, but also their contribution to society and the community.

The report will make uncomfortable reading for the big four supermarkets, with German discounter Aldi emerging as the fourth best-regarded retailer, ahead of Sainsbury’s, Asda, Tesco and Morrisons.

Its findings paint a picture of an industry in revolution, with upstart companies trouncing established players, and consumers casting off long-established loyalties.

However, the study had good news for Marks & Spencer, which despite its long struggle to boost clothing sales, came second, and John Lewis, which came third in the rankings.

The findings that Amazon had performed so well – even on its contribution to society – come despite allegations that it had avoided UK tax in the past by channelling profits abroad.

The retailer has also been a target for low wage campaigners. And last year it became involved in a bitter row with publishers over payments to authors for electronic books sold on its Kindle device.

Sharon Johnson, chief executive of Havas’s social business consultancy, said the study showed that the service Amazon offered shoppers meant they overlooked these criticisms.

‘Even though Amazon may have had a few incidents,’ she said, ‘because customers believe it improves their lives, mistakes are more easily forgiven, and people believe it has rectified or can rectify those mistakes.’

Amazon recently adjusted its structure to start paying tax on profits in the UK. Last week, it stunned the markets by announcing a global net profit of $92 million (£60 million) in the three months to the end of June, when most experts had been predicting a loss.

The company has rarely reported a profit during its 21-year history and has instead reinvested money in aggressive global expansion.

Its profit in Britain – and the resulting tax bill – will not be made public until Amazon files annual accounts for its UK subsidiary next year.

Clive Black, retail analyst at City investment group Shore Capital, said he doubted Amazon’s popularity was due to shoppers forgiving it for past tax issues, and instead pointed to consumers’ pragmatism.

‘I am not sure most people are aware of these issues with Amazon,’ he said. ‘Do they know what they pay people, for example?’

Black warned though that when such controversies pile up, they can eventually hit companies’ popularity, adding: ‘Managements ignore their customers at their peril and survey findings like this matter.’

Reflecting on Aldi’s triumph and Lidl’s strong ranking not far behind, he added: ‘The big British supermarkets have ignored their customers for too long and are paying the price.
If you had done this survey ten or 15 years ago you may have seen Tesco at the top.

But it lost touch with the consumer when Middle England was in its greatest need. In 2010-11, when inflation was higher, shoppers lost trust in the big supermarkets.’
However, Black cautioned consumers against celebrating the rise of the discounters too soon. He said: ‘I don’t think everyone understands Aldi.

If you want to know what it would be like if Aldi had a third of the grocery market, take a look at Germany. It’s not good.’
The survey asked 20,000 British shoppers their views on more than 100 retail brands.

Its aim was to discover which brand names were most meaningful to consumers, measured by the excellence of their product or service, their contribution to society and their contribution to consumers’ well-being.

The scores were combined to reveal the best performers overall.

Johnson said the agency was careful to tell people that this was not a survey about brand size and it was not measuring sales.

She said the John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, performed well due to its staff-owned business model.
She said: ‘When you go into John Lewis you feel you are buying off a person, not from a shop. That has been very positive.’

She said Marks & Spencer had managed to maintain its place because it engaged with its customers, who were then more willing to forgive it if there was a mistake.

Upscale supermarket Waitrose did not appear in the Havas top ten overall list, but it did perform well on at least one key criterion.

Asked which retail brands shoppers would be prepared to pay a premium price to shop with, Waitrose came top.

Looking at brands that were seen by at least 50 per cent of respondents as ‘improving their life’ Google was in first place, Amazon in second, followed by PayPal and Visa.

As consumers get ever busier, it seems they value those firms that help them to shop online, as much as the internet retailers themselves.