The company surveyed 10,000 consumers and the UK obtained the highest overall customer experience excellence (CEE) score ( 7.33 ) since analysis began.

The score is a weighted average of each brand’s score in KMPG Nunwood’s six pillars that drive brand advocacy and loyalty: personalisation, time and effort, resolution, integrity, expectations and empathy.

First direct topped the table of all brands, having previously held the position in 2014. Lush dropped to third place, while John Lewis climbed to second.

The top sector for customer experience was the grocery sector, despite the challenging trading environment. 

2016 UK top 10 results

Despite a backdrop of various challenges, including the impact of the EU Referendum vote on market confidence and increased regulatory demands, nearly a quarter of the top-100 brands were from the financial sector. Following first direct’s success, Nationwide Building Society also claimed a top-10 position, coming in joint ninth with Apple Store this year.

The analysis shows that the UK is catching up with the US when it comes to customer experience. While the UK remains behind the US, the UK’s CEE score of 7.33 was just shy of the US’s 7.42 this year.

David Conway, director at KPMG Nunwood, said: “Customer experience success is always a work in progress and there is scarcely a company in the world that is not concerned about the quality of customer experience they deliver. For the grocery sector, the ongoing price war has resulted in customer service being the new differentiator.”