The 10 most trusted brands—and why Gen Z’s trust is hard to earn

Every marketer talks about building an authentic relationship with their consumers, and trust is an underlying part of that relationship. A recent report highlights which brands consumers find the most trustworthy, and why it’s difficult for brands to build trust with Gen Z.

In the U.S., the top 10 most trusted brands are Band-Aid, UPS, Amazon, Lysol, Kleenex, Cheerios, Visa, Dove, The Weather Channel and FedEx, according to Morning Consult’s Most Trusted Brands 2023 report, which surveyed 799 to 8,434 U.S. adults, depending on the brand. 

The report also found that Gen Z was less likely than the rest of the population to say that they trust brands to do what is right. 

Related: 20 brands catching Gen Z’s attention

“We see that Gen Z as a whole has less trust in government institutions, corporations, and brands in general,” said Nicki Zink, industry analyst team lead at Morning Consult. “Gen Z also wants brands to have strong political and ethical values, such as treating employees fairly.”

Gen Z consumers, who are between 11 and 26 years old, have not had as long a relationship with brands to build up trust. “A big part of building brand trust is frequency and use,” said Zink. “So as Gen Z ages and uses brands more, we expect brands to gain trust.”

Younger consumers typically get to know brands more intimately on social media, but are often skeptical of marketing efforts, which may come off to them as performative or tone-deaf. For example, when Amazon’s Prime debuted on TikTok with a video featuring Jason Derulo, viewers instead flooded the comments about Amazon giving their warehouse workers a livable wage. (The account responded with a cheeky video of a person dressed up in Prime boxes reviewing the first video and stating “Realizing we’re just a corporate account in the comments.”)