Supermarkets were the most trusted brands during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Roy Morgan ‘Risk Report: COVID Issue’.
For the first time the two major supermarket brands, Woolworths and Coles, took top spots on the list of most trusted brands in the country. They pushed Bunnings and ALDI down to third and fourth.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Coles continues its “rapid rise” up the trust league ladder.
“In May last year we reported that Coles was the fastest mover, lifting three rankings,” she says.
“During the depths of Covid, our data collected between April and September 2020 reveals that Coles jumped another two rankings to be neck and neck with Woolworths in the top two positions.”
Beyond supermarkets
Given a reliance on technology during the Covid-19 lockdown, says Roy Morgan, it is unsurprising that for the first time, Apple and Microsoft entered the top-10 most trusted list.
For the first time there were no banks or financial institutions in the top-10 trusted list.
Distrusted brands
The Roy Morgan ‘Risk Report: COVID Issue’ also reveals the top-10 list of Australia’s most distrusted brands.
Roy Morgan says it highlights the impact of Rio Tinto’s decision to “destroy” the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge indigenous heritage site, with the mining company “leaping” into the top-10.
NAB, notes Roy Morgan, was a “big improver” on the distrust ladder “dropping well out” of the top-10 most distrusted brands.
“Distrust remains the number one risk factor for the nation’s companies because it is the toxic element in brand equity: trust is a brand asset while distrust is a brand liability,” says Ms Levine.
“It’s clear, then, that distrust should be on the risk register of every publicly listed company in Australia. Why isn’t it? Because until Roy Morgan’s data scientists identified the toxic nature of distrust, no-one was measuring it.
“After more than 30 waves of research, Roy Morgan continues to measure and track distrust as well as trust, publishing key results in the Roy Morgan Risk Report providing essential risk metrics to corporate leaders who understand the corrosive threat that distrust represents.”
