Our latest research has highlighted a growing lack of confidence in some of the UK’s best-known brands, with higher prices and declining customer experiences emerging as key concerns.
Trust has become a central factor in how UK consumers decide where to spend their money. As living costs remain elevated, shoppers are paying closer attention to value, product quality and how brands treat their customers. The latest survey suggests that for many major names, that trust is starting to erode.
Rising Prices Drive the Biggest Loss of Confidence
Affordability stands out as the dominant reason people turn away from brands. More than a quarter (26%) of respondents who say they have lost trust in a brand cite rising prices as the primary cause.
This far outweighs any other factor and reflects the ongoing pressure households face, with consumers increasingly questioning whether what they are paying still feels justified.
Brands UK Consumers Say They Are Trusting Less
| Rank | Brand | Respondents who have lost trust |
| 1 | McDonald’s | 15.50% |
| 2 | Tesco | 13.25% |
| 3 | Amazon | 11.55% |
| 4 | Asda | 10.85% |
| 5 | Primark | 10.85% |
| 6 | Starbucks | 10.60% |
| 7 | Apple | 8.90% |
| 8 | Greggs | 8.70% |
| 9 | Sainsbury’s | 8.55% |
| 10 | Ryanair | 7.95% |
*The full data set including all cities and figures is available to view here.
Fast Food and Supermarkets Feature Heavily
Quick service and grocery brands account for a significant portion of the list. McDonald’s is mentioned by 15.5% of respondents, followed by Tesco at 13.3% and Amazon at 11.6%.
Supermarkets are particularly prominent, with Asda and Sainsbury’s also ranking highly. Many respondents link their frustration directly to price increases. One said they felt they were “spending more each shop but seeing less value,” while another commented that prices had “risen without any obvious improvement in what you get.”
Big Tech and Online Retail Not Exempt
Large digital brands are also feeling the effects of shifting consumer sentiment. Amazon appears among the top three most distrusted brands, while Apple is cited by nearly one in ten respondents.
The findings suggest that scale, convenience and long-standing brand loyalty are no longer enough to offset concerns around cost and perceived value, particularly in a more price-sensitive market.
Retail and Fashion Brands Reflect Changing Expectations
General retail and fashion brands also appear frequently. Primark is named by 10.9% of respondents, while WHSmith is cited by 6.9%.
Mid-market clothing brands such as Next (6.2%) and River Island (5.9%) further indicate that trust pressures are not limited to either budget or premium segments, but are being felt across the retail landscape.
Airlines Continue to Struggle With Perception
The travel sector remains an area of concern for consumers. Ryanair is mentioned by 8.0% of respondents, while British Airways and easyJet are both cited by 6.1%.
Virgin Atlantic appears at 5.1%, reinforcing the idea that service reliability, disruption and customer support continue to play a major role in shaping opinions. Nearly one in five respondents overall point to poor customer service as a key reason for losing trust.
Value and Experience Now Central to Trust
Across all industries, a clear pattern emerges: trust is increasingly shaped by everyday experiences rather than headlines or scandals alone. While 11% of respondents mention negative coverage as a factor, far more link their loss of trust to personal interactions, service quality and price.
With more than 30% of trust erosion tied to customer service and quality issues, and cost pressures leading overall, consumers are reassessing whether brands still offer genuine value. As one respondent summarised, “it doesn’t feel worth it anymore.”
Comment From Liquidation Centre
Richard Hunt, Director at Liquidation Centre, said:
“People are not expecting perfection, but they do expect fairness.
If prices go up, they want to feel the quality and service still justify it.
When that balance disappears, trust goes with it, and once that is lost, it is very difficult to win back.
What this shows is that consumers are paying much closer attention to the everyday value they are getting.
Small frustrations add up over time, whether that is higher prices, poorer service or simply feeling that standards have slipped.
Brands that remain consistent and deliver what customers expect will come through this, while those that do not risk losing people for good.”
Methodology
Liquidation Centre surveyed 2,000 UK adults in April 2026 via an online questionnaire to understand attitudes toward brand trust and purchasing behaviour.
Participants were asked which brands they no longer trust, their reasons for this change, and whether they would consider returning to those brands. The results were weighted to reflect the UK adult population by age, gender and region. Percentages are based on the full sample unless stated otherwise. Open-text responses were lightly edited for clarity.