The Harris Poll UK Launches 2025 Study Revealing Companies with the Best and Worst Reputations and Customer Experiences
Today we’re unveiling our two benchmark studies, the 2025 Corporate Reputation Index and the Customer Experience Index, revealing which companies are winning consumer trust and loyalty — and which are falling behind.
Based on over 20,000 consumer evaluations and more than 1 million datapoints, these studies represent the most comprehensive measures of reputation and customer experience in the UK.
Customer Experience Index
The Harris Poll UK measured customer experience across 100 of the country’s most visible companies, spanning bricks-and-mortar, online-only and hybrid businesses. All respondents were customers of the companies they reviewed, ensuring feedback is rooted in real experiences. Rankings range from “excellent” to “critical,” based on six fundamentals: Fairness & Clarity, Valued & Understood, Connected & Adaptable, Continuous Improvement, Supportive Service, and Frictionless Control.
Leaders and those falling behind
AO tops the 2025 Customer Experience Index, followed by P&O Cruises, Jet2, Bupa, and John Lewis. These companies stand out for consistent service, empathy and reliability — qualities that help build lasting trust and loyalty across both retail and services.
At the other end of the scale, Evri, Royal Mail, Ryanair, Virgin Media and British Gas fall into the weakest tier of the Index, with consumer frustrations around reliability, communication and not feeling valued undermining confidence and loyalty.
Overall, the analysis shows that the strongest performers excel through differentiated CX, value, connection and adaptability while weaker companies are held back by service inconsistency and a lack of emotional connection with customers.
Findings reveal 4 key CX trends in 2025:
’Supportive Service’ is the greatest driver of CX. Customers seek a quality, service interaction when they are most in need.
’Valued and Understood’ is an underperforming aspect so companies must look to go beyond efficient, transactional CX to leave customer both getting value and feeling valued.
Top performers all excelled at one of our cx fundamentals. Companies must identify and turbocharge their CX sweet spots.
New entrants into sectors are using technology and innovation to step change customers expectations; companies cannot stand still or they risk being left behind.
Deeper analysis of the Customer Experience study reveals that sectors such as hospitality, retail and digital services are raising the bar for what consumers expect. AO, for example, achieved the top ranking by combining value with initiatives that make customers feel genuinely valued — from its loyalty membership scheme with exclusive prices and extended returns, to real-time delivery tracking that leaves customers feeling in control.
In contrast, industries reliant on legacy infrastructure, including utilities and transport, such as British Gas and Ryanair, are struggling to keep pace, with customer frustrations often rooted in delays, opaque processes and a sense of being treated as numbers rather than people.
Another clear finding is the importance of emotional connection. Companies that scored highest are those seen to offer experiences that feel human, empathetic and personalised. For example, Jet2’s investment in having staff available at every stage of the journey helped customers feel valued and understood, driving standout CX scores. By contrast, those slipping often failed to meet these emotional needs even when they delivered functionally.
Steve Brockway, Chief Research Officer at The Harris Poll UK, said: “Customer experience has become the frontline of corporate reputation. This year’s Customer Experience Index reveals that consumers are not only focused on price or product, but on whether companies truly deliver when it matters. Those that succeed do so by embedding empathy and consistency into every interaction.
Our findings show that the smallest details, such as being understood, being listened to, feeling respected, now have an outsized impact on brand preference. For those in the ‘critical’ zone, the risks are no longer hypothetical; poor experiences are translating directly into lost loyalty and eroded trust.”
Corporate Reputation Index
Alongside CX, The Harris Poll UK also measured corporate reputation across 100 of the country’s most visible companies. The Corporate Reputation Index ranks companies by their reputation across dimensions including Character, Trust and Trajectory.
Leaders and those falling behind
Lego, Lush, Patagonia and Sony emerge as the UK’s most reputable companies, praised for combining trust, quality, a strong sense of purpose and future-focused vision. This gives consumers confidence not just in what these companies stand for today, but also where they are taking them tomorrow.
At the other end of the scale, companies including X, Evri, Royal Mail and Ryanair fall into the weakest tier of the Index, reflecting ongoing challenges including customer trust, service reliability and more.
Overall, the analysis shows that the strongest performers succeed by aligning value with purpose and demonstrating clear direction for the future, while those slipping are penalised for inconsistent experiences and questions around authenticity.
Beyond retail, the Corporate Reputation report shows a widening gap between sectors. Technology and consumer electronics companies are building momentum in reputation by linking innovation to everyday relevance – for instance Sony’s high performance on innovation, from immersive gaming haptics to its 360 Reality Audio partnership with BandLab.
Similarly, innovation leads in financial services, with newer players like Chase gaining ground on traditional banks by combining digital innovation with trust, while utility companies continue to face entrenched scepticism over fairness and value.
The findings also highlight how fast reputations can change: some mid-ranked companies that faced criticism over the past year, such as Sainsbury’s, have staged noticeable rebounds in the rankings, suggesting consumers are quick to recognise visible improvements. Conversely, others that dominated rankings last year, such as Waitrose, have slipped (with the findings suggesting that perceptions of value and relevance are becoming just as critical as quality) underlining the fragile nature of reputation in a high-expectation environment.
Steve Brockway, Chief Research Officer at the Harris Poll UK, said: “Reputation is a currency that can make or break a brand in today’s UK market. Results from our corporate reputation study show that while value and trust remain powerful drivers, we are also seeing sharper penalties for companies that overpromise and under-deliver. Conversely, those that show a clear future direction — where they are taking consumers next — are being rewarded with stronger reputational equity.
The data highlights a growing demand for clarity, fairness and consistency. What’s particularly striking this year is that consumers are rewarding companies that align their values with their actions – from sustainability to fair treatment of employees – while punishing those that fail to back up their messaging with meaningful proof points.”
About
The Harris Poll UK is a leading customer experience and consumer insights company that helps some of the UK’s best-known companies understand what matters most to their customers. Founded in 1999 and formerly known as Maru, it is now the UK arm of the global Harris Poll and part of the Stagwell Group, a global network of digital-first marketing and research agencies.
The Harris Poll UK combines deep sector expertise with advanced digital research tools, behavioural science, and agile research methods to deliver powerful, real-time insights. Its flexible service model enables companies to respond quickly to shifting customer expectations, drawing on over one million survey responses and 40,000 emotion data points each month.
Methodology
The 2025 Corporate Reputation Index is based on 270,000 datapoints from a nationally representative sample of 10,000 UK consumers. The Customer Experience Index is based on 870,000 datapoints from 10,000 recent customers. Together, the two studies combine over 1 million datapoints to rank 100 of the UK’s most visible companies.
The Harris Poll UK Corporate Reputation study uses an established methodology developed in collaboration with The Harris Poll in the USA and their Axios Harris Poll Corporate Reputation research, a trusted ranking that has been running for 25 years. This approach provides consistent, cross-market rigour and comparability.
In addition to the UK and US studies, The Harris Poll also runs the Canada RQ in partnership with Canadian Business. The second year of the Canada RQ will launch shortly — offering another benchmark for how corporate reputation is evolving across markets.