Distrust replaces trust for Coles and Woolworths – and it’s just the beginning
Amidst a massive cost of living crisis and calls for an inquiry into the supermarkets concerning allegations of price gouging and heightened media coverage of profit announcements, trust for our previously beloved supermarkets has been decimated.
Coles has plummeted 221 places from its December 2023 ranking as Australia’s 5th most trusted brand to become Australia’s 9th most distrusted brand (12-month rolling average to March 2024).
The news for Woolworths, while less dramatic, is still significant. It has dropped 32 places from its December 2023 ranking as Australia’s 2nd most trusted brand to become the nation’s 34th most trusted brand in March.
According to Roy Morgan data, which will be fully released later in May, the top reasons for the supermarkets’ dramatic reputational decline centre around “price gouging / tricky pricing” and a “focus on profits ahead of customers.”
According to Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine:
“We have been tracking trust and distrust of brands in Australia for more than seven years, but we have never seen a reputational crash as dramatic as Coles and Woolworths – not even Qantas. This is in direct contrast to the soaring reputational trust that they gained during the pandemic.
“Sadly, this is just the beginning. Our data reveals even more dramatic reputational declines in the coming months.
“Pretty much everyone measures trust, but only Roy Morgan measures distrust, and its distrust that matters; distrust foments when we feel foolish we trusted too much.
“The leaders of both Coles and Woolworths stood up at the beginning of the pandemic, recognising it as a national crisis that needed emergency action and throughout the months that followed, with lockdowns, supply shortages, and general panic, they consistently did whatever was needed to keep the stores open and safe; as well as creating alternatives like ‘click and collect’ and full delivery services. They were rewarded with burgeoning levels of trust, and very little distrust.
“However, after lockdown, Australia emerged to a very different economic environment, and in my view the major supermarkets failed to recognise the exploding cost-of-living pressures as a genuine crisis, and now they’re paying the price.
“Despite their plummeting trust and soaring distrust, both supermarket giants appear to be performing at the checkout, but trust and distrust measures are what we call ‘lead indicators’. In other words, they foreshadow what is to come.
“Woolworths’ share price, for example, has already fallen 22.5% since mid-June last year. Distrusted brands become fragile, making them targets for smart competitors like Aldi and other overseas competitors looking for new territories.
“We at Roy Morgan have been mapping recovery times for companies suffering a dramatic reputational crash, like Optus and Medibank after their data breaches, and our best estimate for the two supermarket brands is at least two years, and only if they can develop and execute a data-driven recovery strategy that is built on much more than PR and spin.”
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To learn more call (+61) (3) 9224 5309 or email askroymorgan@roymorgan.com.
The Roy Morgan Risk Monitor surveys approximately 2,000 Australians every month (around 25,000 per year) to measure levels of trust and distrust of around 1,000 brands across 26 industries. Respondents are asked which brands they trust, and why, and which brands they distrust, and why. The survey is designed to be open-ended, context-free, and unprompted. Roy Morgan Risk Monitor data is available in a variety of formats, from snapshot overviews to detailed tracking of individual brands and competitors. Industry Trust and Distrust Deep dive Surveys are also conducted (e.g. Telco, Utilities, Insurance, Life Insurance, Banking, Agribusiness, Media, Retail, Real Estate, etc.) for deep insights into brand health, perceptions of, and customer experience (CX) with brands.
About Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan is the source of the most comprehensive data on Australians’ behaviour and attitudes, surveying over 1,000 people weekly in a continuous cycle that has been running for two decades. The company has more than 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
