With interest rates rising, Australians are about to tighten their belts and watch their spending.
If you have less money to play with, then naturally you will be more careful where you spend it.
As such, it's interesting to analyse the latest update to the Roy Morgan's Australia's most trusted brands rankings.
As the economy slows down, which are the brands best placed to attract customers and revenue?
ASX shares that have the most trustworthy brands
For the year ending March, incredibly the top six most trusted brands had not changed from the previous quarter:
- Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)
- Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)
- Bunnings Warehouse
- Aldi Australia
- Kmart
- Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)
While Aldi is privately owned, Bunnings and Kmart are both brands operated by the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) conglomerate.
Roy Morgan chief Michele Levine noted the rising cost of living would challenge businesses looking to maintain trust and minimise distrust.
"The last two years have proven to be good ones for Australia's supermarkets and big retailers," she said.
"Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Bunnings Warehouse and Kmart have consistently ranked in the top five most trusted brands in Australia and this trend hasn't changed in the early months of 2022."
Woolworths and Wesfarmers shares have sunk so far this year, by around 2% and 17% respectively.
The Coles and Qantas share prices have fared better, with both ASX shares moving around 2.6% upwards.
US company makes huge strides in Australia
The huge mover in the latest survey was Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL).
The technology provider moved up six places to be rated the ninth most trusted brand among Australians.
"Respondents who trust Apple noted several aspects of Apple's services that stand out including that 'their privacy and security is much higher of a priority than competitors'," said Levine.
"'Apple's technology is useful and designed well – I use them extensively at home', 'I have used Apple's products my entire working career' and 'They have always tried to develop user-centred products'."
Apple shares have suffered the wrath of investors in the rotation away from high-growth stocks, falling almost 22% for the year so far.
