Liberty London in top three department stores in the world for Christmas shopping

CouponPi analyzed reviews of 50 of the world’s most famous department stores to uncover the best for Christmas shoppers.

A trip to London at Christmas might not feel complete without a trip to Harrods and who can resist a stop at Macy’s whilst in New York? But which department store offers the best experience for Christmas shoppers?

Using a list of the 50 most famous department stores worldwide, CouponPi conducted semantic word analysis on 43,550 reviews and Google search volume increases during the festive period to rank the rise in popularity of each store and uncover the world’s best department stores at Christmas time.

They also analyzed other factors to reveal the best department stores all year round.

The world’s best department stores at Christmas time

Rushing around packed stores buying presents is not always an enjoyable Christmas-time experience, but high-end department stores do their best to keep the magic of gift-giving alive.

To name the best department store during the Christmas period CouponPi analyzed the percentage of total reviews per department store with positive Christmas mentions (four and five stars) and the increase in Google searches during the festive season (November to December 2023, compared to January to October 2023). The top department stores for Christmas shopping are listed below.

1. Saks Fifth Avenue, Midtown, New York

Saks Fifth Avenue is a haven for fashion lovers and according to this data, Christmas enthusiasts too. Scoring 6.7 overall, the flagship store has 146 positive Christmas mentions and 26.4% of all reviews mention a positive Christmas experience. This is the highest percentage of positive Christmas reviews in the study. Searches for the store almost tripled (175%+) during the festive season and the run-up to Christmas. Customers rave about the light show at Christmas, which is located near the Rockefeller Christmas tree.

2. Le Bon Marché, 7th Arrondissement, Paris

Le Bon Marché (which was also the first department store in the world) placed 2nd in the Christmas rankings with a score of 5.9. “The Good Market” had humble beginnings as a store selling mostly haberdashery items, but thanks in part to savvy marketing ideas and the construction of vast new premises, Le Bon Marché is now regarded as one of Paris’ most luxurious destinations.

And according to search volumes, Le Bon Marché is also one of the world’s best Christmas shopping destinations. Searches for the store increased by 812.2% during the Christmas season – the greatest increase in the study.

3. Liberty London, Regent Street, London

Liberty London beat Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, and Harrods to the title of best festive department store in London. Searches for the store more than tripled (+233.3%) and one in seven (13.7%) of reviews mentioned a positive Christmas experience at the store – combining this gives a score of 4.8 out of 10.

Reviewers recommended a visit to the Christmas store, which sells a fine selection of luxury baubles.

4. Macy’s, State Street, Chicago

Formerly a Marshall Field’s store, Macy’s acquired the national landmark in 2006. Like Macy’s on Herald Square, this store is known for its Christmas window displays but also for its unique Tiffany dome mosaic ceiling and its Walnut Room – the first restaurant opened in a department store.

One in seven (14.8%) of all reviews in Chicago’s store are four and five-star Christmas-related reviews and the store scored 4.7 overall. According to reviews, the store is “beautifully and imaginatively decorated” for Christmas, and it is recommended to check out the huge Christmas tree in the Walnut Room.

5. Selfridges, Oxford Street, London

Rounding off the top five is Selfridges and Macy’s in joint 5th place. Google searches for Selfridges increased by 400% in the last festive season, a bigger spike than its London rivals Liberty London, Fortnum & Mason, and Harrods. Overall, the store has a final score of 4.3.

At Selfridges, the festive motto is ‘the more the merrier’, and visitors can expect a Christmas experience with all the trimmings – including live performances and elaborate Christmas window displays which are worth a trip to see in themselves.

6. Macy’s Herald Square, New York

The flagship department store of Macy’s is also the largest department store in the U.S. at a huge 116,000 m2. One of the first publicity stunts that put Macy’s on the map was having a resident Santa Claus and today the store is still known for its extravagant festive window displays.

There are 354 glowing mentions of Christmas in the reviews. One in eight (12.8%) of all reviews are positive and Christmas-related. Reviewers mentioned being “blown away” by the Christmas decor and that a trip to Santaland was a “magical experience for children and adults alike”. Reviewers also recommended checking out the wooden escalators – the last functioning wooden escalators in the world. Overall, the store has a final score of 4.3 and ranks joint with Selfridges.

The world’s top 10 best department stores

To name the world’s best department stores, CouponPi considered the average rating of online reviews for each department store alongside the number of times words indicating a positive experience were used.

Department stores around the world were analyzed, from KaDeWe in Berlin to Takashimaya Shopping Centre in Singapore. But one city did exceptionally well: the study found that three of the top five department stores in the world are in London.

1. Fortnum & Mason, London

Fortnum & Mason began life as a grocery store founded by an ex-footman to Queen Anne, but today it’s an upmarket department store known for the quality of its food produce. And considering both the average rating (4.6) and how positive the reviews are (62.1%), Fortnum & Mason is the world’s best department store – the top in both categories and scoring an impressive 10 out of 10 overall.

2. El Palacio de Hierro, Mexico City

El Palacio de Hierro is a chain of 16 department stores across Mexico. Their inaugural five-story location was the first iron and steel building in the city, hence earning the name “the Iron Palace”. The flagship store in Polanco was remodeled and reopened in 2016, and clearly to great success.

The department store scores 9.6 out of 10 –  with an average rating of 4.6 and a 57.4% positive sentiment rating.

3. Liberty London, London 

Liberty London, known for its black and white mock Tudor storefront (made from the timber of two battleships) and avant-garde fashion, was a favorite of poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. The store is still as iconic as it was in the 19th century, with an average review rating of 4.5 and a positivity score of 55.3%.  It places 3rd in the study with a score of 9.0 out of 10.

4. Arnotts, Dublin

Founded in 1843, Arnotts is the oldest and largest department store in Ireland. After some financial trouble in the last 10 years,  Arnotts is now owned by Selfridges. With a 4.4 average rating and 60.9% positive sentiment score, the Irish store clinches the 4th spot in this study with a final score of 8.9.

5. Selfridges, London

After Harrods department store, Selfridges is the 2nd largest retail premise in the UK (at a huge 50,000m²). Founded in 1906 by American Harry Gordon Selfridge who was unimpressed with the quality and selection of retail choices in the UK, Selfridges appealed to increasingly independent women looking to shop for pleasure rather than necessity.

The average rating for the store is 4.5 with a 52.5% positive sentiment score, scoring 8.8 overall.

Featured Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash.