A model online health store
Store location: London
Enquiry: Vegan B vitamins
Previously in this series, Better Retailing Magazine set the standard for secret shopping to find the great, the good or even the average health food retailers. Following our relaunch over a year ago, New Natural Business picked up the baton. The pandemic has changed shopping patterns for many customers so we’ve been focusing on stores with an online shop...
First impressions
Initial impressions are good, with a pared-back, clean and responsive website design. Content all loads quickly for me, a big bonus. I run into a broken link on the homepage but otherwise all seems to work very smoothly.
Browsing further I find some background on the shop and their values although there’s quite limited information on the physical shop.
Verdict 8/10
Website layout
The online shop includes some food and drink but mainly offers supplements, bodycare and household products. The product selection seems carefully chosen and I feel I should be able to find what I’m looking for.
It’s fairly straightforward to browse using the webshop’s main menu – but some shop categories are empty of products which I find a bit frustrating. A few new products are featured on the homepage but I can’t work out how to view a full list of them.
The online shop includes a search option which works quickly – but the default sorting of results sometimes seems a bit odd. I like the information and images shown on the shop product pages – these are clear and helpful.
Verdict 7/10
Personal attention
The website seems simple but professional, if perhaps a little bit impersonal. There isn’t an online webchat facility but contact details and customer service information are very easy to find. There is, however, a small blog section – this is a bit limited in content but its topics tie in well with the products on sale in the online shop.
Verdict 7/10
Check out
The checkout process is straightforward, with options and costs for click & collect or home delivery shown clearly. T&Cs are also easy to find. Card processing uses a well-known provider and works smoothly.
An unobtrusive option to sign up to their email newsletter is also shown during checkout.
I receive a couple of order processing emails to keep me updated on progress and delivery is within a reasonable time.
Verdict 9/10
Overall impression
I find the whole process to be professional and straightforward – it might perhaps be nice to have a bit more personal interaction, but that might be looked after by their email newsletters when I receive them.
I take a look at the shop’s social media posts and find them very product-focused, but with a friendly tone. Care and thought obviously goes into their posts and photography.
Overall this is a shop I would be happy to return to in future.
Verdict 8/10
Total marks 39/50
Read the previous Secret Shopper report here...
The Awards are run in conjunction with the Health Food Institute and reward excellence in independent health store retailing. The winner is selected from the stores visited by the New Natural Business secret shoppers throughout the year.