Cyber-hit Marks & Spencer still crowned UK’s strongest brand in YouGov rankings as Northern brands underwhelm

Marks & Spencer has been named the UK’s strongest brand of the past year in YouGov’s Best Brand Rankings 2026, based on its BrandIndex tracking tool.

The retailer tops the national list with an Index score of 52.7, putting it ahead of IKEA, Samsung, John Lewis and Netflix in the UK’s top five.

YouGov said the strength of M&S comes from “broad-based” performance across key measures including impression, quality, reputation, satisfaction and recommendation, signalling what it described as “long-term brand resilience”.

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That performance comes despite a major challenge in 2025, when Marks & Spencer suffered a cyber-attack that left customers unable to shop online for months.

Northern roots still shining through – even if the list doesn’t

While the wider UK top 10 is dominated by global consumer giants and London-headquartered names, M&S stands out as one of the few brands with clear Northern roots, having been founded in Leeds market.

The UK’s full top 10 is Marks & Spencer, IKEA, Samsung, John Lewis, Netflix, WhatsApp, Sony, Lindt, Boots and Cadbury.

YouGov also named the Post Office as the UK’s most improved brand, after a year-on-year Index rise of 8.9 points.

It was followed by Royal Mail and Fujitsu, with YouGov pointing to improving consumer satisfaction and recovering public perception in the wake of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.

The top 10 most improved brands in the UK were: Post Office, Royal Mail, Fujitsu, J D Wetherspoon, Henry, British Gas, Nationwide, Octopus Energy, Tesco Clubcard and Cruzcampo.

WhatsApp tops global list as tech brands dominate

Globally, WhatsApp ranked as the world’s strongest brand, with YouGov’s rankings showing tech companies continuing to outperform on brand trust and affinity. The global top five were WhatsApp, Samsung, YouTube, Google and Adidas, with Nike close behind in sixth place.

YouGov said the rankings were based on over six million interviews conducted across 28 markets, with the Index score combining metrics including impression, quality, value, satisfaction, reputation and recommendation.

Stephan Shakespeare, CEO and co-founder of YouGov, said: “Strong brands don’t just perform, they connect… Congratulations to all recognised brands.”