America's most trustworthy brand is...

Face-to-face human contact is not necessary for a brand to make a strong connection with consumers.



Amazon was deemed the most trustworthy brand in a first-ever national survey by social science research entity The Values Institute. It was followed by Marriott, Microsoft, Hilton, and Southwest Airlines. The survey, which ranks the six largest national brands in seven key categories and also overall, calculated trust by looking at 25 "trust dimensions" in five categories: competence, consistency, connection, candor and concern.



“In the past, we have seen the strongest Concern and Connection scores come from brands where there is a personal interaction with the customer," said Mark Weinfeld, TVI’s director of strategic planning who administered the survey. "Amazon has done an amazing job of creating that personal touch that may even exceed what you get at a brick-and-mortar location.”



In addition to having the highest score overall (290.75), Amazon scored highest in the retail category. Rounding out the top five most trustworthy retailers were Costco (266.80), Target (261.25), Macy's (251.50) and Walmart (240.75).



The most trustworthy quick-service restaurant brand was Subway (270.25). It was followed by Wendy's (268.85), Starbucks (264.15), Burger King (257.65) and Taco Bell (254.05).