BrandSpark International Announces Canada's Most Trusted Retailers as Voted by 7,500+ Canadians in a National Shopper Study

Canadian shoppers most trusted retail brands named across 16 categories and by region

TORONTO, April 11, 2016 /CNW/ - Leading market research firm BrandSpark International today announced the 2016 BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards winners for Retailers across Canada. The results were based on the annual BrandSpark Canadian Shopper Study.

"Whether shopping for food, health and beauty products, toys, car parts, clothing, household items, or other goods, shoppers want to walk into stores they trust to deliver great value, strong selection, and quality goods. Now shoppers can find out which retailers were voted most trusted by other shoppers in a national survey," said Robert Levy, President and CEO of BrandSpark International. "The annual BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards honours the retail and product brands that Canadians trust most, those they would recommend to friends and neighbours."

Survey participants named the retailers that they consider their Most Trusted in 16 household and personal shopping categories. Listed below are the national and regional winners.

The BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards previously announced brand trust results for 143 consumer packaged goods (CPG) product categories. More details can be found at www.BrandSparkMostTrusted.com.

Retail Category	National Most Trusted Retailers
Auto Parts & Accessories	Canadian Tire
Baby / Children's Clothing	Carter's / Walmart (tie)
Beauty & Personal Care	Shoppers Drug Mart
Clothing / Fashion	Hudson's Bay
Department Store	Walmart
Electronics	Best Buy
Footwear	Payless
Furniture	The Brick / Leon's (tie)
Health / Pharmacy	Shoppers Drug Mart
Home Décor	HomeSense
Home Improvement / Hardware	Home Depot
Housewares / Kitchenware	Walmart
Mass Merchant	Walmart
Sporting Goods	Sport Chek / Sports Experts
Supermarket / Grocery	Real Canadian Superstore
Toys & Games	Toys "R" Us

The Canadian retail landscape is dotted with strong regional players

Several strong retailers lead their categories from coast to coast, including Canadian Tire (auto parts and accessories), HomeSense (home décor), Sport Chek/Sports Experts (sporting goods), Toys "R" Us (toys and games), and Best Buy (electronics). Shoppers Drug Mart is most widely trusted in English Canada for beauty and personal care as well as health and pharmacy, while Jean Coutu is Quebec shoppers' most trusted choice.

Several other players with a regional focus are most trusted in Quebec, including Tanguay for furniture, Yellow for footwear, and Bouclair for home décor (in a tie). Rona is Quebec's most trusted retail brand for home improvement, while elsewhere Home Depot ranks first. "We also see a trusted brand from Quebec in fashion retail, Simons, now expanding across English Canada and it will be interesting to see how they can translate their French Canada success as they expand," added Levy.

The Grocery landscape also changes by region with No Frills earning top spot in Ontario and IGA in Quebec.  The Superstore brand comes out on top in the rest of Canada, in a tie with Sobey's in Atlantic Canada. "Only in Quebec and Atlantic Canada were non-priced focused brands on top. Canadians continue to place value for money at the top of their list of what's most important to them and so it's not a surprise that the supermarket brands offering consistent high value fare so well," added Levy.

While long-established Canadian retailers continue to rank highly in several categories, American giant Walmart has become a trusted destination for low priced goods in general – particularly for housewares and children's clothing.

Most Trusted Retailers by Region
Retail Category	British Columbia	Prairies (AB, SK, MB)	Ontario	Quebec	Atlantic (NS, NB, PE, NL)
Auto Parts & Accessories	Canadian Tire	Canadian Tire	Canadian Tire	Canadian Tire	Canadian Tire
Baby / Children's Clothing	Inconclusive	Carter's / The Children's Place / Walmart (tie)	Carter's / The Children's Place (tie)	Walmart	Carter's / Walmart (tie)
Beauty & Personal Care	Shoppers Drug Mart	Shoppers Drug Mart	Shoppers Drug Mart	Jean Coutu	Shoppers Drug Mart
Clothing / Fashion	Hudson's Bay	Hudson's Bay	Hudson's Bay	Hudson's Bay / Reitmans / Sears / Simons (tie)	Mark's / Reitmans / Walmart / Winners (tie)
Department Store	Hudson's Bay	Walmart	Walmart	Walmart	Walmart
Electronics	Best Buy	Best Buy	Best Buy	Best Buy	Best Buy
Footwear	Hudson's Bay / Nike / Payless (tie)	Sport Chek	Payless / Sport Chek (tie)	Yellow	Sport Chek
Furniture	The Brick	The Brick	Leon's	Tanguay	Leon's
Health / Pharmacy	Shoppers Drug Mart	Shoppers Drug Mart	Shoppers Drug Mart	Jean Coutu	Shoppers Drug Mart
Home Décor	HomeSense	HomeSense	HomeSense	HomeSense / Bouclair (tie)	HomeSense
Home Improvement / Hardware	Home Depot	Home Depot	Home Depot	Rona	Home Hardware
Housewares / Kitchenware	Walmart	Walmart	Canadian Tire / Walmart (tie)	Walmart	Walmart
Mass Merchant	Walmart	Walmart	Walmart	Walmart	Walmart
Sporting Goods	Sport Chek	Sport Chek	Sport Chek	Sports Experts	Sport Chek
Supermarket / Grocery	Real Canadian Superstore	Real Canadian Superstore	No Frills	IGA	Atlantic Superstore / Sobeys (tie)
Toys & Games	Toys "R" Us	Toys "R" Us	Toys "R" Us	Toys "R" Us	Toys "R" Us

How brands build and maintain trust

Canadian shoppers also revealed what determines their trust in a retailer. Canadian shoppers expect consistently strong value (often driven by low prices or high-value promotions), a strong selection of quality products, and a consistent and convenient shopping experience from their most trusted retailers.

Shoppers learn what to expect from a retailer, and the experience at their local store will define their view of the brand. One Ontario shopper gave their reason for citing No Frills as their most trusted supermarket: "The prices are cheap for a variety of foods, and [the stores are] mostly clean, depending on the branch. They have a wider selection of international grocery items." Meanwhile, a Sobey's shopper wrote: "I trust [Sobey's] the most due to overall cleanliness, friendly staff, and great tasting, fresh products."

Another method of increasing trust that has proven effective and important for numerous retail brands is leveraging recommendations from shoppers' peers via unfiltered reviews, with 6 in 10 shoppers saying they regularly look to reviews to support their shopping decisions.

"When real problems arise with products or the shopping experience, it is important that retail and other brands react transparently and quickly to take responsibility and address the issue," added Levy.

How winners are determined

More than 7,500 respondents participated in the BrandSpark Canadian Shopper Study between November 2015 and March 2016 to determine the 2016 BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards retail winners through their "top of mind" responses for retail categories in which they shop. BrandSpark researchers analyzed the unaided responses and the reasons for trusting the brand. The results were ranked based on the greatest volume of mentions, and if the difference between brands by region was less than three per cent, ties were declared. Respondents represented the profile of household shoppers by region.  BrandSpark also captured why Canadians selected the brands they trusted the most.

About BrandSpark International

BrandSpark International is a leading brand, marketing and product innovation research company.
With deep expertise in consumer packaged goods, BrandSpark has a global perspective on what drives innovation unlike any other research company. We understand the insights and content that brands need to launch and support new products. BrandSpark runs North America's most credible consumer voted awards program for new products, the Best New Product Awards, and generates new product reviews, certified claims and insights through its new shopper engagement platform, Shopper Army.
For more information, visit www.BrandSpark.com.

SOURCE BrandSpark International

Image with caption: "BrandSpark International logo (CNW Group/BrandSpark International)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160411_C4531_PHOTO_EN_661632.jpg

BrandSpark International: Robert Levy, President, [email protected]; Philip Scrutton, Director, Consumer Insights, [email protected]; For interview requests, please contact: Jefferson Darrell & Associates (JDA) at [email protected]