Insight

Most Connected Brands UK 2022

Budget brands gain ground as consumers battle cost of living crisis

Opinium today unveils the Top 100 Most Connected Brands in the UK. Now in its fifth year, the ranking is the first ever Index to be compiled by exclusively from consumer feedback. While Amazon tops the ranking for the fifth year in a row, budget brands have risen up the rankings, highlighting how the cost-of-living crisis is hitting consumers.

The affordable supermarkets have jumped up the charts since last year, with Aldi making it into the top five, up 10 places since 2021. Asda has risen 14 places, and Iceland is up nine spots. At the same time, Waitrose has fallen 11 places.

Budget retailers have followed a similar pattern, with Primark rising 10 places, George climbing 11 places and Matalan seeing a 14-place rise.

Opinium interviewed 6,000 consumers, collated 5,598 spontaneous brand mentions, and facilitated 48,000 brand reviews to identify the 100 Most Connected Brands in the UK: those that have succeeded in becoming indispensable to consumers’ daily lives. These brands challenge conventions, build unbreakable bonds and define how consumers interact, whilst remaining true to themselves.

Heritage brands celebrated

The Most Connected Brands Index this year shows a number of ‘heritage’ brands continue to stand the test of time and remain relevant. Indeed, around a third of this year’s index is made up of brands that have been around since the Queen’s coronation and much earlier. The oldest, Colgate, ranked 23rd, was founded in 1806, while the second oldest, Cadbury, founded in 1824 reaches fourth position.

In hard times people often look for comfort from the past, searching for nostalgic moments from simpler times, and looking for comfort in the familiar. The heritage brands in the Top 100 manage to not only provide reassurance and familiarity for consumers, but also remain relevant to consumers by constantly innovating and modernising year-on-year to avoid becoming outdated and irrelevant to consumers’ needs.

Click on the image below to see the entire Top 100 Most Connected Brands 2022

Download the full report below: