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People truly do seem to be stuck on Band-Aid: It topped Morning Consult’s Most Trusted Brands list for the third year in a row.
The list is based on data from surveys conducted from January 1 through March 31 among an average of 10,070 US adults per brand. To determine the rankings, Morning Consult asked respondents how much they trust each brand “to do what is right,” then calculated their net trust, aka the share of people who answered “a lot” or “some” minus the share who said “not much” or “not at all.”
Sticky supremacy: Not only did Band-Aid clock the highest net trust among all US adults, but it also came in first or second among four generations, men, and women.
- Lysol made the top-five list among all adults for the second year in a row and was joined by UPS, Google, and Dove.
- Amazon and Kleenex landed in the top 10 this year, falling from last year’s top five.
- Colgate, The Home Depot, and the USPS rounded out the top 10.
Generational differences: In addition to Band-Aid, Amazon and UPS were both included in the top 15 most-trusted brands for each generation, but there were some notable differences among age groups.
- CVS Pharmacy, Spotify, Target, Vaseline, and PlayStation were unique to the list of most-trusted brands among Gen Z adults.
- Costco, M&M’s, and Doritos were only in the top 15 among millennials.
- Lowe’s, Energizer, and General Mills only appeared on the list for Gen X.
- Baby boomers had the most unique list of brands, including Ace Hardware, Campbell Soup, FedEx, Betty Crocker, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and Heinz Ketchup.
It’s harder for brands to win trust among Gen Z than other generations, according to the report, which notes that the average net trust score is more than 10 points lower for them than for any other generation.
The Home Depot divide: Breaking news: Men like hardware stores (and women are picking up on it). Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and Lowe’s all made it on the list of the 15 most-trusted brands among men, but not among women.
- Sony, FedEx, YouTube, and Walgreens were also unique to the men’s list.
- Dove, Kleenex, Clorox, the Weather Channel, Vaseline, Campbell Soup, and Cheerios were on the women’s list only.
- Band-Aid, UPS, Colgate, Google, Amazon, the USPS, Visa, Tylenol, and M&M’s were trusted among men and women.
Trouble in tech? Of the top 25 most-trusted brands among all US adults, all but three came from the personal and household products, food, retail, and shipping and logistics industries. Google and Amazon were the only two brands in the top 25 that can be considered digital-first or tech brands.