Hardware retailer Bunnings has again been named as Australia’s most trusted brand, while supermarket chains Woolworths and Coles fell down the rankings.

For the year to March, Woolworths plummeted from second spot in the last report to 34th place, while rival Coles went from the fifth most trusted brand to the ninth most distrusted brand – a drop of 221 places.

Among grocers, Aldi bucked the trend by climbing to the second most trusted brand spot, while discount department store Kmart secured third place. Apple and Toyota completed the top five, while Australia Post went up four places to sixth.

As Woolworths and Coles were out of the top 20, all brands other than ING bank moved up in ranking last year.

“The fate of Woolworths and Coles reveals how quickly distrust can gain momentum and negatively impact a brand’s reputation,” said Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan Research, which conducted the rankings.

“The results serve as a salutary reminder for Bunnings, which has retained high levels of trust based on extensive goodwill and reputational strength combined with a fairly stable, and minimal, level of distrust,” she added.

Telecommunications company Optus remained the most distrusted brand last year, followed by social media giant Facebook/Meta and airline Qantas.

Roy Morgan noted a significant increase in the level of district consumers have for companies. The cost-of-living crisis and high inflation have raised more concern about companies being motivated by high profits and excessive price hikes rather than putting customers first, the research firm explained.