Woolworths takes the crown in South Africa

Research into South Africa’s most recommended brands revealed some clear winners, with companies like FirstRand and Woolworths proving to be consumer favourites.

Consumer insights agency KLA, in partnership with YouGov, released the Top 10 Most Recommended Brands, based on data from YouGov’s daily brand and competitor tracking tool, BrandIndex.

Drawing on feedback from current customers over the period of a year, the rankings reflect which brands South Africans are most likely to recommend to a friend or colleague – a powerful indicator of trust and brand advocacy.

“This list reflects a brand experience that consumers are proud to share with others,” said Rakhee Naik, Managing Consultant – Insights at KLA.

The rankings are based on data collected between 1 June 2024 and 31 May 2025, using YouGov BrandIndex.

This continuous brand and market tracking tool measures public perception of thousands of brands globally, including over 200 brands in South Africa.

Every day, YouGov BrandIndex conducts over 560 nationally representative interviews with South African adults per brand. Respondents are asked about their attitudes and perceptions of brands they are aware of.

The recommendation score is calculated based on the percentage of a brand’s current customers who say they would recommend the brand to others, versus those who would not.

Only brands with a robust sample of current customers over the 12-month period were included in the final ranking.

The importance of recommendations when it comes to attracting new clients and growing businesses cannot be overstated.

For example, the 2024/25 Life Insurance Customer Experience (CE) Index report released by the University of Pretoria (UP) found that referrals accounted for most new business in the life insurance business.

According to the report, 50% of new client policyholders said they chose their current insurer thanks to a referral or recommendation from someone they trust.

“At the end of the day, customer experience is predicated on customer loyalty,” said Professor Adré Schreuder, Head of the Industry Chair in CE at UP.

“A satisfied policyholder is far more likely to stay with an insurer for the rest of their life, buy supplementary cover or products, and recommend the brand to others.”

South Africa’s most recommended brands

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) led the pack as the most recommended brand in the country, with a recommendation score of 90.1%. Samsung followed closely, with an 88.9% recommendation score.

Notably, Woolworths made up three of the top 10 most recommended brands. Woolworths Food placed third (88.1%), Woolworths Clothing placed fourth (86.7%), and Woolworths Home came in fifth (85.2%). This means that Woolworths took the crown in the food, clothing and home categories.

“Each and every day, our team strives to deliver exceptional quality products and a level of service that surpasses our customers’ expectations,” said Spencer Sonn, Chief Customer Officer at Woolworths.

“To receive recommendations and personal endorsements from our customers is incredibly humbling. There is always more for us to do, and rankings like this show us we’re on the right path.”

The table below shows the top 10 most recommended brands in South Africa, according to KLA.

The study also identified the “Top 10 Most Improved Brands,” recognising those that have made the biggest gains in their recommendation scores year-on-year.

These improvements reflect strategic progress in building trust, elevating customer experience, and strengthening brand affinity.

This list is based on the year-on-year change in positive recommendation scores among current customers, not brand awareness or ad recall, but actual user-based advocacy.

RMB was, again, the best performer in this category, up 15.8% from the previous year. This was followed by Ultra Liquors, up 8%, and Identity, up 7.5%.