The UK eCommerce Index: Which Retailers are Setting the Standard for Best Web Experience?

Understanding what a top-performing website looks like today is a good way to benchmark your own and make any improvements. The UK 2023 Digital Retail Index, developed by Remarkable, is based on a regular analysis of retailers from the IRUK Top500 list.

The Digital Retail Index is compiled by digital retail specialist Remarkable, using Google’s Lighthouse tool to track web performance and set a benchmark for eCommerce businesses across the UK. Google Lighthouse conduct 5 key audits when they review a URL, these include:

• Performance Audit
• Accessibility Audit
• Best Practices Audit
• SEO Audit
• PWA Audit

Further details on the audits and metrics are available here. The metrics which are tracked for each audit are weighted and grouped into two scores, a Performance score, and a Speed score.

LIGHTHOUSE SCORE TABLE HERE

Who Won Each Category?

Top Performing Retailers

Pre-owned watch specialist, Watchfinder.co.uk, is leading the way on digital customer experience according to the latest Digital Retail Index. The firm achieved the highest digital experience score, coming out ahead of more than 700 of the largest online retailers, based on analysis of performance metrics such as accessibility, search engine optimisation (SEO), user experience and site speed.

The index also revealed the top-performing websites in different categories of retail and once again, we saw a mix of established retailers and newcomers, with some operating online only while others have physical outlets too.

Fashion/Apparel Retailers

1. SoleTrader

2. Mandm Direct

3. Jaeger

4. Shein

5. Jack & Jones

6. Simply Be

7. Hotter

8. Mainline Menswear

9. Blacks

10. Harrys of London

Homeware

1. Dunelm

2. Stoves Are Us

3. Neptune

4. Amara

5. Nisbets

6. Claybrook

7. Calendar Club

8. Habitat

9. Interflora

10. Home Bargains

Health, beauty and wellbeing

1. The Body Shop

2. Holland & Barrett

3. Notino

4. Fragrance Direct

5. Beauty Bay

6. Lush

7. Space NK

8. Allbeauty

9. The Fragrance Shop

10. Kiehl’s

Why it matters

Even a slight deterioration in performance can hit sales and brand loyalty, particularly during busy sales periods like Black Friday and Christmas. Investment in SEO is non-negotiable for most businesses today – but eCommerce firms, in particular, will simply slide into obsolescence if they don’t maintain a strong web presence.

Achieving a high (or top) position in Google’s search results depends on multiple factors and website performance is critical. Sites with fast loading speeds, relevant content and good UX will outrank those that don’t, so retailers that want to stay ahead need to continually measure performance using Google’s Lighthouse tool and make technical improvements to support SEO.

Final thoughts

The pandemic fuelled a flurry of online sales activity over the last few years and those who’d invested in a well-performing and scalable website were in a prime position to benefit from this demand. Shopper habits have now changed for good, shifting even further towards eCommerce, and retailers have to be ready for surges during peak periods.

Given the technical capabilities of some of the biggest eCommerce companies, most notably Amazon, managing website performance to the standard required can feel daunting. However, as the Digital Retail Index indicates, not every retailer that operates online comes from an eCommerce background, nor do they work on a global scale.

A cloud-native store front, with easy-to-use integrations, means you can optimise performance and scale up as demand grows.

You can also lean on your platform provider for the technical skills and expertise you might not have within your own team. Our developers and engineers deliver and optimise our B2C eCommerce platform so you see real improvements in website performance – the driver for visibility, web traffic, conversions and sales.

Methodology

The 2023 Digital Retail Index assessed 717 retailers in total – 500 drawn from the Internet Retailing Top 500 for 2023, as well as further 217 that featured in the 2022 Digital Retail Index but not in the Internet Retailing Top 500 for 2023. All were ranked based on five core audits, using Google Lighthouse to create an unbiased view on the top UK ecommerce sites. The five metrics are performance and speed, progressive web app validation, accessibility, best practices and SEO. Note: Due to changes in Google Lighthouse tests and scoring, the total available score for each retailer was 500 in 2023, compared with 400 for 2022.

The 2023 Digital Retail Index scores were collected on 31st March, 2023.