Homebase has been named as the UKs worst online retailer for 2018, according to the latest annual online shopping survey by consumer group Which? The report surveyed over 10,000 people and asked them to rate the most popular online shops, based on their experiences from the past six months.

The survey also asked participants to rate websites for their experiences buying particular items, and got them to consider a variety of factors including price, product range, deliveries, product quality and the returns process. Homebase saw extremely poor results for its product range, product quality and valuen for money.

The most highly rated shops tended to be smaller, specialised retailers such as LizEarle.com (94 per cent), RicherSounds.com (93 per cent), Rohan.co.uk (93 per cent) and WexPhotoVideo.com (93 per cent). Homebase, which scored 55 per cent, was joined at the bottom of the pile by well-known institutions like Sports Direct (61 per cent), Dorothy Perkins (61 per cent), WHSmith (63 per cent) and JD Sports (63 per cent).

“The online shops with the happiest customers tend to be the ones that offer a personal service, quality items and deliver quickly and conveniently,” said Harry Rose, editor of Which? Magazine. “Where the big players are lacking, either with poor service or confusing websites, smaller, more specialised online retailers have seized the opportunity to make their mark and give shoppers exactly what they want.”