Retailers did well in the top 10 of this year’s Gustavson Brand Trust Index out of the University of Victoria.
MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-Op) took the top spot on the list of most trusted brands by the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, which used a sample of 6,384 consumers to rank 276 Canadian companies and brands. MEC takes the top spot from Tim Hortons, which held the number one position last year (this is the second annual ranking from the school).
Costco, Home Hardware and Shoppers Drug Mart are some other retailers to appear in the top 10 this year.
The scores come from consumer attitudes toward whether a brand is trustworthy and acts with integrity, perceptions about their social responsibility and perceptions about how well a brand’s product performs or functions. They’re also based on consumer perception around how the brand interacts with its customers and whether consumers would recommend it to others.
Overall, brand trust tends to increase as consumers age, according to the school. However, it tends to decrease as the income of the consumer increases. Generally, females are more trusting than men, the Index also found.
The top 10 most trusted brands include:
MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op)
President’s Choice
Costco
Home Hardware
Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix
Canon
DavidsTea
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Band-Aid
Columbia Sportswear
Top ranked brands by category include:
Appliances: Whirlpool
Automobile rental: Enterprise-Rent-A-Car
Automobiles: Tesla Motors
Beer: Alexander Keith’s
Coffee/tea: DavidsTea
Confectionery/snack foods: Laura Secord
Dairy: Agropur (Sealtest, Quebon, L’Extra, Natrel, Iogo)
Delivery services: Purolator
Financial services: Interac
Electronics and AV equipment: Canon
Food and drug retailers: Costco
Gas stations: Petro-Canada
Hotels: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Household care: Palmolive
Insurance: Sun Life
Media: Global TV
Packaged foods: President’s Choice
Personal and beauty care: Band-Aid
Pet food: Purina
Restaurants/takeout: Tim Hortons
Retailers (other): MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op)
Soft drinks/juices/Waters: Canada Dry
Sportswear: Columbia Sportswear
Technology: Google
Telecoms/cable: Telus
Transportation: WestJet
Travel: TripAdvisor
Featured image via Shutterstock
