Amazon was followed by Boots and John Lewis who came a respective second and third in the Reputation Institute’s 2018 UK Retail RepTrak research based on 5,175 individual ratings from the general public.

The study found that Amazon’s reputation has significantly improved since last year with a an 8.3% increase. The public voted Amazon as the top retailer in the categories of products and service, innovation, leadership, and performance.

chief reputation officer at Reputation Institute, Stephen Hahn-Griffiths said: “Amazon’s combination of selection, value, personalisation, and no hassle customer service is a winning formula. Amazon has a loyal following with more than 100 million Amazon Prime subscribers ‘Prime Day’ sales have become a major retail event.
 
“Despite their position of strength, Amazon is faced with reputation risk based on the proposed “Amazon tax” and growing criticism of working conditions in their vast distribution centres.”

In contrast, Sports Direct was ranked the UK’s least reputable retailer after suffering a significant decline in its RepTrak pulse score from 53 in 2016 to 48.4 in 2018.
 
The top ten companies in the study which were considered to have an excellent or strong reputation were:
 

1. Amazon

2. Boots

3. John Lewis

4. Co-op

5. IKEA

6. Debenhams

7. Sotheby's

8. Waitrose

9. Tiffany & Co

10. eBay

  
Hahn-Griffiths added: “While more than 2,000 stores have closed or are at risk of closure so far in 2018, the report shows the rapid change in the retail sector creates opportunities for companies who get the balance of high quality products/services and responsible business right.”