Dive Brief:
- Trader Joe’s took the top spot in the latest Axios Harris Poll 100 corporate reputation rankings, released Tuesday, moving up 12 spots from its position on the annual list last year.
- Costco ascended to No. 5, while Aldi and Kroger came in lower than they did in 2024.
- Grocers took two of the top 10 spots in the poll this year after being unrepresented in that portion of the list last year.
Dive Insight:
Trader Joe’s and Costco’s ascendance on The Harris Poll’s list comes at a time when consumers are partial to businesses that they believe will help them save money. Last year, Costco came in at No. 11 in the polling organization’s yearly examination of how consumers view the nation’s best-known companies, while Trader Joe’s finished at No. 13.
However Kroger dropped six spots this year, to No. 35, while Aldi fell 18 notches, to No. 32. Target, Dollar Tree and Dollar General all took positions on the lower half of the list, as they did in 2024, while Amazon slipped three spots, to No. 19.
Walmart, which took No. 79 on the list last year, moved down to No. 81. H-E-B, Wegmans and Publix, which had claimed spots in the rankings as recently as 2022, did not show up.
Other companies whose reputations won them high praise from consumers in 2025 include clothing manufacturer Patagonia (No. 2), Microsoft (No. 3) and Apple (No. 10). Arizona Beverage Co., a newcomer to The Harris Poll’s list, took No. 7
Poll respondents docked almost half of all corporate reputations this year, with more than three-quarters of participants saying they believe companies have been charging more for goods and services even as quality declines, according to The Harris Poll, which conducted the research in partnership with Axios. A substantial portion of respondents also think companies are leveraging inflation to boost profits.
About 40% of respondents said they feel unable to improve their financial position, and a quarter of those blamed businesses for their inability to get ahead.
The poll results reflect the opinions of 16,585 people in the U.S., who ranked companies deemed to be the most visible in the country in a survey fielded from March 6 to March 22.
