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It heads the top-10 retail brands based on average ‘Impression, Quality, Value, Reputation, Satisfaction and Recommend’ scores for the last 12 months, according to YouGov’s BrandIndex tool.
M&S took top spot as the ‘Strongest Brand in the UK’ over the past year with a national ranking Index score of 52.7. That’s pretty good considering the retailer suffered a cyberattack in 2025 that left shoppers unable to buy online from the company for months.
“The key to Marks & Spencer’s success is broad-based strength across multiple BrandIndex measures”, the report said, adding “strength in depth is a key indicator of long-term brand resilience”.
It also said “the fact that the brand was able to withstand the damage from this attack shows just how strong it is in the UK”.
Second place went to IKEA with department store John Lewis fourth and health & beauty retailer Boots ninth.
There were no UK retail brands in the top 10 ‘Global Brand Ranking’ which was dominated by tech giants, (topped by What’sApp), with the only retailers in the list being Adidas (fifth) and Nike (sixth).
Stephan Shakespeare, CEO and co-founder of YouGov, said: “Strong brands don’t just perform, they connect. YouGov’s Best Brand Rankings highlight the companies that have enjoyed lasting consumer appeal over the past 12 months. Based on over six million interviews conducted across 28 markets, this report looks at overall brand health as measured by YouGov BrandIndex’s daily tracking. Congratulations to all recognised brands.”
Last month, M&S topped the scorecard when it came to providing AI-assisted Christmas gift inspiration and was also ranked as the UK’s most trusted retailer in 2025.
