M&S has been voted the UK’s most authentic brand, with another six supermarkets winning a spot in the top ten.
The study, by analysts Cohn & Wolfe, used quantitative and qualitative research from 12,000 respondents to collate the top 10 most authentic brands in the UK and worldwide.
In second place was Tesco, third was John Lewis and Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose claimed fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively. The Co-operative and Morrisons won eighth and tenth places respectively.
Cohn and Wolfe managing director, Andrew Escott, said that the fact the study was conducted before the Tesco accounting scandal shows that the retailer has build a “solid foundation of trust” that they can use to protect their business.
But he added: “As more and more corporate scandals come to light, consumer perceptions of businesses are suffering: Just three per cent of individuals in the UK believe big businesses are very transparent and honest.
“While no brand is immune to a crisis, we’ve seen again and again that those brands that act with honesty and integrity recover faster and are more respected by consumers than those who don’t.
The study also found that UK consumers are among the most sceptical in the world, highlighting the importance of an authentic brand.
Almost nine in 10 global consumers (87 per cent) said it was important for businesses to act with integrity at all times, surpassing the number who rate striving to innovate (72 per cent) and bringing unique products to market (71 per cent) as factors in their buying decisions.
Food safety and hygiene was the issue most likely to incite anger among global and UK consumers, while the UK market is one of the most demanding in the world, with 95 per cent of consumers agreeing that ‘not letting customers down’ is the most important business behaviour.
“In a fiercely competitive industry, retailers and supermarkets have to work hard for our custom. The strides they have made in operating in a more transparent and interactive way with their consumers certainly seems to have paid off given their position as the most authentic sector in the UK,” said Escott.
On a global level, French retailer Carrefour was voted the most authentic global brand, with American grocery chain Walmart at number seven.
Top 10 most authentic brands [Cohn and Wolfe]:
In the UK Globally
M&S McDonald’s
Tesco Samsung
John Lewis Apple
Sainsbury’s Carrefour
Asda KFC
Waitrose Starbucks
Virgin Walmart
The Co-Operative Google
Amazon HSBC
Morrison’s Sony
