Roy Morgan has announced the inaugural winners of the Trusted Brand Awards for 2022. These brands have garnered an unmatched level of trust, and exceedingly low, or negligible level, of distrust, to be recognised as more trusted than all their competitors in their respective categories.

Our world runs on trust. When we launch onto a pedestrian crossing we trust drivers not to run us down. When we buckle up for a flight we trust the pilot to get us safely to our destination.

Without trust we would never go on a date or put money in the bank.

The winners of the Roy Morgan Trusted Brand Awards for 2022 are, with Woolworths also named ‘Best of the best’ most trusted brand for 2022:

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine presents the prestigious ‘Best of the Best’ Award to the ‘Most Trusted Brand in Australia’ – Woolworths, represented by chief marketing officer Andrew Hicks.

The inaugural Roy Morgan Trusted Brand Awards recognise the outstanding levels of trust built up by 20 brands across a range of different industries and services including Supermarkets, Retail, Department & Discount Department Stores, Services, Charities, Automotive, Superannuation, Insurance, Utilities, Government Services, Media, Mining & Petroleum, Banks, Telecommunications and more.

There were several of the Trusted Brand Award winners to appear in the overall Top 20 Most Trusted Brands in the most recent quarter led by Woolworths, Bunnings, Kmart, Toyota, ABC, NRMA, Bendigo Bank and Australia Post – all of which scored highly and challenged for top spot.

The ultimate winner as the ‘Best of the Best’ Most Trusted Brand for 2022 is Woolworths which has consistently rated as the Most Trusted Brand for over 2 years since taking the honour from Bunnings.

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said the last year has been a transitional period for Australians as the country slowly opened up after more than two years of restrictions from COVID-19 – and during this period several brands winning Trusted Brand Awards have emerged with enhanced Net Trust:

Levine said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has turned many norms ‘up-side down’ over the last two years but the importance to brands of building trust, and minimising distrust, among one’s customers, and the wider public, has never been more important.

“The pandemic led to saving rates in Australia booming over the last two years as restrictions on travel, and several harsh lockdowns in various parts of the country, forced people to save money and find new outlets for that spending.

“Although this unexpected windfall could not always be spent on the recreational and personal activities people would usually undertake, leading retail outlets were able to take advantage of the last two years and cement their reputations and brands in the minds of consumers.

“The Trusted Brand Award winners are led by Supermarket and ‘Best of the Best’ Most Trusted Brand Award winner Woolworths followed closely by Most Trusted Department Store Kmartand Most Trusted Retailer Bunnings also highly rated. All three have enjoyed consistently high Net Trust Scores over the last two years and it is no surprise to see all three emerge as winners.

“Respondents to the survey rated Woolworths highly for good quality products and displaying a customer-focused attitude with good service and affordable. Another key factor mentioned was the low prices in a time when people are keeping a closer eye on prices than ever before, and that they’re a reliable, dependable, accountable, and responsible community-minded business.

“Some direct quotes from customers included that Woolworths is ‘Sensitive to consumer needs and delivers quality products. There’s no reason to distrust,’ they provide ‘Reliable, honest, not over-priced, good service,’ ‘The way they assisted the country during the pandemic. They have always given me excellent service’ and ‘They are a reputable company and I deal with them weekly. I find their prices, customer service and delivery very good.’

“The high praise for Woolworths shows other businesses, striving to improve their bottom line and attract new customers, the importance of building trust to enhancing a company’s reputation. At the same time the commitment shown by ‘The Fresh Food People’ to deal swiftly with any complaints or issues that arise prevents feelings of distrust negatively impacting commercial outcomes.”