The results are in: Kiwis love Samsung

Samsung has come in runner up for New Zealand's Most Trusted Brand, sitting behind long term favourite Whittaker's.

The consumer electronics firm came in at second place in the annual Reader's Digest 'Most Trusted Brands' survey.

The survey ranks New Zealand's top 10 trusted brands and 41 category winners. The other brands to finish in the top 10 are, in order, from fourth place: Panasonic, Toyota, Dilmah, Sony, Huntley - Palmers, Air NZ and Tip Top Ice Cream.

Reader's Digest used Catalyst Marketing - Research to survey a representative sample of 1214 New Zealand adults on the most trusted brands in 41 categories of products and services across a broad range of industries.

Louise Waterson says brands that feature highly have won the 'crucial battle' – sometimes across generations – to build a name and a product people believe in.

"Many purchases are made with the heart and, even in this digital age, it's the brands which continue to offer quality and substance that hold our trust," she says.

The New Zealanders surveyed were asked what factors influence them to place their trust in a brand. High reputation, great customer service, reliable and cost effective, quality and innovative, promise keepers, consistent and durable (stood the test of time) were the answers.

Waterson says, in many cases, the same trustworthy qualities that were attractive to our grandparents remain the primary motivators today. But, that is increasingly being coupled with the presence of well-established social media communities.

"Social media plays a big part in the winning of trust, with many people preferring the testimonials of fellow consumers on social media," she explains.

Waterson says results over the last two years have shown more than 90% of Kiwis will trust the social media reviews of fellow consumers. What's more, many online shoppers will actively seek out these reviews as part of the shopping process.

"There's no doubt that a well-managed social media account is a valuable tool in fostering ongoing trust," she states.

"For example, on average, over 2.5 million Kiwis use Facebook every month with 80% reporting they use it to discover products and brands," she says.

"The winning brands featured in the survey understand the role social media plays in terms of the power of customer reviews, and the decision making of prospective customers.

Jens Anders, sales director of Samsung New Zealand's Consumer Electronics division, says the company feels 'incredibly humbled' by the results of the Reader's Digest 2016 Trusted Brands survey.

"Our entire Consumer Electronics team is committed to delivering innovation designed for the way New Zealanders live and connect, so it's really encouraging to see that Samsung has placed well in the categories of Electronics and Whitegoods," Anders says.

"Samsung has been the number one TV brand globally for the past 10 years, so it's great to see our New Zealand customers trust reflected in the Reader's Digest survey.