BrandSpark International announced its 2018 Most Trust Awards winners for Canada’s biggest retail categories.
The market research firm’s awards cover e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores.
Amazon overwhelmingly won the trust of Canadian consumers online. In the traditional retail space, Ikea, The Home Depot and Shell all won their respective categories.
BrandSpark surveyed more than 5,000 people online to determine the award winners. The firm ranked results based on the volume of mentions. Furthermore, BrandSpark declared a tie if the national difference between retailers was less than three percent.
E-Commerce winners
Canadians are increasingly shopping online. As such, trust in online vendors is paramount. According to a BrandSpark study, 41 percent of Canadians plan to do more online shopping and only five percent plan on doing less.
Amazon is one of those online players that Canadians are looking to. Furthermore, the company dominated the categories for online retail. However, some brick-and-mortar locations also infiltrated the online categories. Brands like Best Buy, Old Navy and Canadian Tire have created successful online branches of the traditional retail experience offered.
The full list of categories and winners can be read below.
- Auto Parts & Accessories — Amazon | Canadian Tire (tie)
- Baby & Childrens Clothing — Carter’s Osh Kosh | Old Navy (tie)
- Baby Goods — Amazon
- Beauty & Cosmetics — Sephora
- Books — Amazon
- Electronic Gaming / Videogames — Amazon
- Electronics — Amazon
- Eyewear & Contacts — Clearly
- Food & Beverage (non-perishable) — Walmart
- Furniture — Wayfair
- Grocery / Fresh Food — Walmart
- Health & Wellness — Amazon
- Home Appliances — Amazon
- Home Decor — Wayfair
- Home Improvement / Renovation — The Home Depot
- Housewares / Kitchenwares — Amazon
- Laptop/Desktop Computers — Best Buy | Dell (tie)
- Men’s Clothing / Fashion — Amazon | The Bay (tie)
- Personal Care — Amazon
- Pet Supply — Amazon
- Printer Ink / Toner — Amazon
- Shoes / Footwear — The Bay
- Sporting Goods — Sport Chek/Sports Experts
- Toys & Games — Amazon | Toys “R” Us (tie)
- Travel / Accommodation — Expedia
- Women’s Clothing / Fashion — The Bay | Old Navy | Pennington’s (tie)
Traditional retail winners
Despite the strength of online, brick-and-mortar retail locations are still important. A lot of shoppers still value that “in-store” experience, especially in cases where consumers like an expert to guide them through the options.
Furthermore, the traditional retail space saw a more balanced competition, with no one retailer sweeping a number of categories.
- Auto Parts & Accessories — Canadian Tire
- Baby & Children’s Clothing — Carter’s Osh Kosh
- Baby Products — Walmart | Toys “R” Us (tie)
- Beauty & Cosmetics — Shoppers Drug Mart
- Computers & Accessories — Best Buy
- Discount Store — Dollarama
- Electronics — Best Buy
- Eyewear & Contacts — Costco | Clearly | LensCrafters (tie)
- Furniture — Ikea |Leon’s | The Brick (tie)
- Gas Station — Petro-Canada | Shell (tie)
- Hardware Store — Home Hardware
- Health & Personal Care — Shoppers Drug Mart
- Home Décor — HomeSense
- Home Improvement / Hardware — The Home Depot
- Housewares / Kitchenware — Walmart
- Major Home Appliances — The Home Depot
- Mattresses — Sleep Country
- Men’s Clothing / Fashion — Mark’s
- Pet Supplies — PetSmart
- Pharmacy — Shoppers Drug Mart
- Sporting Goods — Sport Chek
- Supermarket / Grocery Store — Real Canadian Superstore
- Toys & Games — Toys “R” Us
- Women’s Clothing / Fashion — Winners | Walmart | Reitmans (tie)
According to BrandSpark, there are a number of factors that indicate how trusting consumers are of a brand. For one, consumers say they trust brands more if they respond quickly to issues. Additionally, transparency is key for a number of customers. Seeing things like information on about the product or service, or seeing unfiltered customer reviews helps build trust.
Source: BrandSpark
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