Roy Morgan names the most trusted and distrusted retail brands in Australia

In today’s retail landscape, trust plays an incomparable role in shaping buying decisions.

Trusted brands enjoy the loyalty of their customers even during trying times, while distrusted labels find themselves stuck in a constant battle to salvage their reputation.

Keeping this in mind, the latest research from research firm Roy Morgan shines a spotlight on Australia's beloved and less-appreciated retail brands.



In a country fiercely protective of its homegrown brands, the latest research from Roy Morgan arguably holds significant implications for all those operating in the Australian consumer market.

The research, which surveyed Aussies' perception of a whole spectrum of brands in the year to December 2023, crowned home improvement chain Bunnings as the most trusted brand in Australia.


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Bunnings has been named as the most trusted brand in Australia by research firm Roy Morgan. Image source: Bunnings.


It overtook Australia's two supermarket giants to become Australia's most trusted brand.

Bunnings, which last dominated the trust category in 2020, has managed to grab the laurels again, reflecting the dip in Australians' faith in supermarket giants.



Woolworths has slipped down from its previous top spot and came in second place, while ALDI and Kmart nudged their way up to third and fourth, respectively.

Coles, meanwhile, tumbled down to fifth place.

According to Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine, Bunnings has built a vast reservoir of goodwill and reputational strength.

'Its trust has been climbing steadily over the past year while its minimal distrust remains fairly stable,' Levine said.

'Bunnings has harnessed many of the foundational pillars of a trusted brand including great customer service, communicating what it stands for and delivering, being an active part of the community, solving customer’s problems and expertise and product knowledge.'

Tech giant Apple also retained its spot as the sixth most trusted brand, followed by Toyota who had overtaken Myer to get into seventh place.

BIG W and Australia Post, were rather stable, retaining their solid ranking as the ninth and tenth most trusted brands.



On the flip side, a few brands have persistently remained at the top of the 'distrust' pile.

The dubious honour of being the most distrusted brand in Australia still goes to telecommunications provider Optus.

Chasing closely behind Optus is Meta, the social media giant, which is followed by Telstra.

Telstra has surpassed Qantas to take third place in the distrust rankings.



Media titan NewsCorp and health insurer Medibank came in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Amazon, despite its efforts, remains cemented at the seventh spot.

Meanwhile, social media platform, TikTok, landed at the eighth spot, followed by X, formerly known as Twitter, dwindling one spot to ninth on the distrust scale.

Food manufacturer Nestle, unfortunately, finished the list, coming in at 10th place on the distrust rankings.
Key Takeaways
  • Bunnings has been ranked as Australia's most trusted brand, according to the latest data from Roy Morgan Research.
  • Woolworths, which previously held the top spot for over three years, slipped to second place, while ALDI and Kmart are in third and fourth positions respectively, and Coles is now in fifth.
  • Optus continues to hold the title as Australia's most distrusted brand, with Meta (the social media giant) following close behind.
  • The rankings showed movement among several brands, with Toyota and Apple maintaining strong trust positions, and TikTok and Nestle appearing in the distrust rankings.
What are your thoughts on this list? Did your favourite brand make it to the top (or bottom!) of the list? Let us know in the comments below!
 
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I would not think Woolworths would be in second place now at all. There has been a marked downturn in the numbers in store wnenever we are there. People are now clearly shopping elsewhere in significant numbers. I would say the same is happening with Coles. Enough is enough.
 
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I would not think Woolworths would be in second place now at all. There has been a marked downturn in the numbers in store wnenever we are there. People are now clearly shopping elsewhere in significant numbers. I would say the same is happening with Coles. Enough is enough.
Hence the price reductions..... they have done their dash..... wouldn't shop there if my life depended on it.... haven't shopped with Cole or Woollies for over 20 years...
 
I think Bunnings are good but nowadays all stores are shonky. Checkouts are becoming unavailable, you have to ask to get one manned. Service at a lot of supermarkets not there.At the moment I stick to two that still have good service Aldi and Spudshed
Shonky is putting it mildly...... being part of the Woolis group what do you expect.... haven't shopped there for 10 years. As soon as I know a business os under the umbrella of either Coles or Woolies I give it a miss. I refuse to support either...
 
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Shonky is putting it mildly...... being part of the Woolis group what do you expect.... haven't shopped there for 10 years. As soon as I know a business os under the umbrella of either Coles or Woolies I give it a miss. I refuse to support either...
It's actually part of the Coles group, so you would give Bunnings a miss.
 
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I don't mind going to Bunnings, mainly to purchase plants, otherwise I travel 30 minutes away to a garden nursery which has better plants.
 
How in hell would WW come in at 2nd place. Sounds like a load of BS to me. I would put both Coles and WW at the very bottom of the list. Judging by the complaints in recent times I think it's fair to say that most Aussies would agree. I think there might be some payoffs going on with this rating system. I would consider putting them just above the Big4 banks though.
 
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WISH is the worst online shopping experience ever. Order 7 items and every order was wrong and nothing like what I ordered. Never used them since.
Totally agree - I found them awful and they still owe me a credit from several years ago!
I use Temu for online shopping now.
They have free postage.
If you are unsatisfied with an item you get an immediate refund.
Because they use so many manufacturers, sizing can be variable, so check each site's sizing chart.
They are all very good value too. Have seen identical items in shop and other online sites at greatly increased prices.
 
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1. Aldi
2. Coles

Online: Temu for great value and free postage

Don't use Ebay much now because of shipping costs.

Wish - awful back-up service for their customers.
 
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Reactions: terri
Would go up in my rankings, if every now and again, I could find a staff member, who knows what they are talking about, to help me.
Bunnings has raised it's prices across the board now. It is a monopoly so can charge what it wants.
 
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