John Lewis scoops satisfaction award

John Lewis has been voted the UK's favourite retailer in the Customer Satisfaction Index 2008.

The poll of 6,000 shoppers, carried out by Verdict Research, found that the department store was more highly regarded than its competitors in categories such as convenience, quality, ambience and facilities.

Supermarket Waitrose - also owned by John Lewis - was voted second place, whilst consumers' love of cheap clothing has seen TK Maxx and Matlan take third and fourth place respectively.

It was not such good news for last year's chamption Ikea, however, which has slipped down to fifth in the rankings.

Elsewhere, Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket group, surprisingly only came 33rd in the survey.