Research firm Roy Morgan has revealed that in April, with Australia deep in COVID-19 lockdown, Bunnings emerged as Australia’s most trusted brand. Woolworths was the second most trusted brand and Qantas came in third according to The Roy Morgan Risk Monitor.
Qantas is interesting considering the impact CV-19 has had on travel. While the list’s biggest mover was CBA, that entered the top 10 for the first time since last year’s Financial Services Royal Commission.
The retail sector emerged as Australia’s most trusted industry, with the supermarket sector second and consumer products third.
The top 10 list of brands is below:
According to Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine, “It’s only a few weeks since we were in lockdown and desperately trying to get to the supermarkets for essentials. And despite accusations of price gouging, delivery problems, and supply chain failures Woolworths rode the storm best and came out really trusted by Australians.
“Woolworths was on the front foot from the outset and that appears to have resonated with Australians.
“But Qantas and the CBA are the standout performers. Qantas was frequently in the media flying stranded Australians home from across the globe throughout the pandemic lockdown.
“And in early March Matt Comyn, CEO of the CBA, moved quickly to offer financially stressed customers loan payment relief. He had a high profile during the lockdown and that has paid dividends for the CBA’s level of trust,” Levine said.
On the flipside, Facebook and AMP were revealed as the most distrusted brands in Australia during April 2020.
“AMP still struggles to recover from the Royal Commission fallout. We saw it leap from virtually no distrust to become the second most distrusted brand in the nation,” Levine added.
“As a consequence, AMP’s soaring distrust saw billions of dollars withdrawn from investments under management and the company’s share price plummet by more than 70 per cent.
“That’s the real risk of distrust. It is not just a reputational issue, it has a material impact on a company’s revenues and market value,” she said.
