Lucky magazine presented their “first annual shopping awards” in the November edition. They compared views on the best shopping destinations between the so called fashion experts and a sample of the magazines readership. The best American department stores, chain stores and websites were judged side by side and the results were very interesting.

For department stores, the industry experts shared the awards between the major department stores. Nordstrom did best and was chosen three times. Readers were more decisive, clearly picking Nordstrom and Macy’s as their favourite departments stores. Nordstrom was also on top with the readers too, but where experts thought they deserved an award for beauty, readers thought they deserved it for their selection of emerging designers. Being a loyal Nordies shopper (and given that they are going through a rough patch at the moment), this made my heart happy.

When it came to chain stores, the Lucky readership agreed with the industry’s choice of H&M for hot off the runway looks, but preferred Forever 21 for party clothes and the Gap for jeans and weekend wear. I was surprised that Gap came up as a frequent favourite, that Forever 21 was mentioned, and that Zara failed to come up at all. But it came as no surprise that the experts and Lucky readers agreed that Sephora was best for beauty products, Nine West was best for shoes and Victoria Secret was best for lingerie.

With websites, Zappos.com came up as a favourite for both the industry and Lucky readers for best shoe site; while Bluefly.com came up as a favourite for both parties as best bargains site. Nordstrom.com was a favourite on both sides for best handbag site, as was Shopbop.com for best young designers. To my surprise Lucky readers chose Gap.com for best denim site, while the experts favoured Ronherman.com and Bluebee.com for their denim.

The detailed results are below. Any surprises?