Woolworths and Coles have become Australia’s two most distrusted brands, according to the latest Roy Morgan rankings.
The supermarket giants each dropped one spot in the December quarter, overtaking Optus, which had held the top position for nearly two years. Compared to December 2023, Woolworths has fallen 231 places, while Coles has dropped 227 spots.
Meanwhile, Bunnings has maintained its position as Australia’s most trusted brand for the fifth consecutive quarter, having overtaken Woolworths in late 2023. Aldi and Kmart remain in second and third place, respectively, for a fourth straight quarter.
Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, said an interesting insight about the top three most trusted brands is that none is governed by a board that makes profit announcements, and they all operate on an ’everyday low prices’ model.
“This approach helps them avoid accusations of fake discounts and the controversies around genuine sale events.”
Apple moved up one spot to fourth place, surpassing Toyota, while Myer climbed two places to seventh, overtaking Big W and NRMA. Other brands making gains included Target (up to 12th), Nike (rising to 14th), and IKEA, which entered the top 20 in 20th place. RACQ and RAC also improved, ranking 17th and 18th, respectively.
Among the biggest declines, Commonwealth Bank dropped three places to 16th, while the ABC, Australia’s most trusted media brand, fell to 19th.
Several technology-related brands saw increasing distrust, including Facebook/Meta, Temu, Amazon, Tesla, and Shein. Tesla, in particular, fell five places to 13th, with Levine citing CEO Elon Musk’s political involvement as a factor in its reputational decline.
“Interestingly, the biggest reason provided by respondents for marking Tesla down was owner and CEO Elon Musk’s exploits during and after the US Election.
“If anything, since the end of last year, Musk has not slowed down and is now more prominent than ever in President Trump’s new administration as he heads up the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE),” said Levine.
Roy Morgan’s rankings are based on its Single Source survey and Risk Monitor, assessing trust and distrust among Australians aged 14 and over.
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