WHSmith

History

WHSmith is the leading high street retailer of books and stationery, amongst other items including craft supplies and toys. The first Smith family newsagent opened in 1792, with the WHSmith brand name first being used in 1828. Far later, WHSmith.co.uk came into existence in 1999.

There are more than 600 high street WHSmith stores across the UK, with the company also represented by a further 600 stores in motorway service stations, train stations, airports, hospitals and workplaces, including the offices of some of the UK's largest and most well-known companies.

The WHSmith International arm represents the brand in a further 18 countries, including Ireland, France, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and Australia. As well as a number of UK airports, branches of WHSmith can be found in airports that include Melbourne and Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Stockholm, Mumbai and Delhi.

WHSmith has taken advantage of opportunities to expand and to offer a wider range of products, meaning that partnerships now provide the opportunity to buy more products than ever through WHSmith.co.uk - products on sale include personalised books, magazine subscriptions, canvas gifts and personalised greetings cards. WHSmith also runs the Richard and Judy Book Club, with new books recommended every season, and has specialist stores including 'Zoodle' stores aimed at children and their 'Memories of...' gift and souvenir shops, plus the Funky Pigeon greeting card brand and gadget shops.

Brands

WHSmith stocks a wide selection of books, plus other products from well-known brands that include:

• Berol
• BiC
• Canon
• Collins
• Crayola
• Derwent
• Epson
• Faber-Castell
• Filofax
• Gadget Shop
• Galt
• Hornby
• HP
• Kobo
• Kodak
• Lego
• Papermate
• Parker
• Scalextric
• Science Museum
• Sellotape
• Sharpie
• Snazaroo
• Stabilo
• Staedtler
• Tatty Teddy
• Uni-ball
• Verbatim
• WHSmith (own brand)
• Winsor & Newton

Departments

In store and online, you can buy a variety of craft, stationery, gift, book, magazine, toy and electronic products from departments that include:

• Books
• eBooks
• Kobo eReaders
• Stationery
• Computing
• Electricals
• Toys
• Games
• Arts, Craft and Hobbies
• Photo Albums and Frames
• Cards
• Party Supplies
• Magazines
• Entertainment
• Bags and Backpacks
• Calendars
• Postage and Packing
• Printers
• Printer Ink
• Software and PC Security
• Giftcards and Vouchers
• Personalised Gifts

Opening Times

Store opening times vary, particularly in shopping centres and in airports, bus and train stations. You can check on the WHSmith website for the opening times of your local store, but typical opening hours for a standard high street store are:

Monday - Saturday - 07:00-17:30Sunday - 08:00-16:00

Delivery Information

WHSmith offers free UK delivery for orders of £20 or more. Other delivery option include Saver delivery for £2.99, taking 3-6 working days, and 1st Class delivery available for £3.99, taking 1-2 days.

Using WHSmith's Click+Collect service you're also able to choose to collect your order free of charge from a large number of local and high street stores. If you're choosing to collect your order then you should expect it to take 2-3 days for your order to be available in your chosen store.

Returns Policy

WHSmith has a 30 day returns policy. For items purchased on card, refunds are returned to the card and are not available in cash. If you purchase your items using PayPal then the money is refunded to your connected payment card. Purchases can be sent back by mail, or returned to any high street WHSmith store within the UK, but cannot be returned to specialist stores such as those in stations and motorway services.

Orders can be cancelled as long as the items have not been picked from the warehouse in preparation for delivery.

Some items, unless found to be defective, can not be returned. These items include digital products such as DVDs and CDs, opened computer software, personalised items, magazines, perishable goods and activated gift packs.

Security & Reviews

The WHSmith website features SSL encryption to keep personal and payment information secure. On Trustpilot, WHSmith reviews are primarily negative. Reasons cited include out of stock items and slow delivery. However, it is worth noting that a majority of people only make an effort to leave a review if their experience is negative and that many people with positive experiences of shopping with WHSmith are likely not to have left reviews.

Some WHSmith customers warn of prices in WHSmith being slightly higher for branded goods (particularly printer inks) than the prices for equivalent products elsewhere, though with the use of discount vouchers and taking advantage of promotions you may find that you're able to save a significant amount of money.