America’s Most Trustworthy Retailers of 2023
Building trust is easier said than done in the retail industry, particularly as economic shifts have created a difficult environment for both consumers and businesses. So which of today’s retailers are building trust with consumers even as costs for products continue to rise and companies continue to face shortages and supply chain roadblocks?
Newsweek and Statista looked at publicly traded U.S. corporations with $500 million or more in annual revenue to identify these companies — those that are treating their customers and employees fairly according to 25,000 U.S. residents surveyed.
Of all 700 ranked companies, the retail category topped the list with 61 brands making the cut. In the top five spots are Amazon, Chewy, Barnes & Noble, United Natural Foods, and Costco.
While Kroger was recognized for the second year in a row, the company moved from the No. 4 spot in the Retail category to No. 3 in Grocery & Convenience Stores.
"As an employer, food processor, retailer, healthcare provider and more, Kroger has a unique responsibility to lead with purpose and create positive change," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "Being named one of the Most Trustworthy Companies is an honor we do not take for granted, and we will continue to work to earn our customers' trust every day.
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- The Top 20 Trustworthy Retailers
1 Retail Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. Washington Seattle Public Company 2 Retail Chewy Chewy, Inc. Florida Dania Beach Public Company 3 Retail Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. New Jersey Basking Ridge Public Company 4 Retail United Natural Foods (UNFI) United Natural Foods, Inc. Rhode Island Providence Public Company 5 Retail Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation Washington Issaquah Public Company 6 Retail ACE Hardware Ace Hardware Corporation Illinois Oak Brook Private Company 7 Retail PetSmart PetSmart LLC Arizona Pheonix Private Company 8 Retail Petco Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. California San Diego Public Company 9 Retail Harbor Freight Harbor Freight Tools California Los Angeles Private Company 10 Retail Tractor Supply Tractor Supply Company Tennessee Brentwood Public Company 11 Retail Office Depot Office Depot, Inc. Florida Boca Raton Private Company 12 Retail 99 Cents Only Stores 99 CENTS ONLY STORES LLC. California Commerce Private Company 13 Retail Ulta Beauty Ulta Beauty, Inc. Illinois Bolingbrook Public Company 14 Retail Target Target Corporation Minnesota Minneapolis Public Company 15 Retail TJX Companies The TJX Companies, Inc. Massachusetts Framingham Public Company 16 Retail Great American Outdoors Group Great American Outdoors Group, LLC Missouri Springfield Private Company 17 Retail Kirkland's Kirkland's, Inc. Tennessee Brentwood Public Company 18 Retail JOANN JOANN Inc. Ohio Hudson Public Company 19 Retail Murphy USA Murphy USA Inc. Arkansas El Dorado Public Company 20 Retail True Value True Value Company, Llc Illinois Chicago Private Company
Methodology
Newsweek’s overall list looks at 23 industries, using U.S. resident evaluations to obtain feedback on three main touchpoints of trust: customer trust, investor trust, and employee trust. Companies considered all have U.S. revenue of over $500 million, and Newsweek considered any recent scandals or lawsuits when crafting its list.
