Amazon Beats Apple and Google in Survey As Most Respected Company in U.S.
A new survey found that Amazon beat Apple and Google as the most respected company in the United States.
The results 2013 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient published on Tuesday found that six out of ten U.S. consumers take the reputation of the company into account before purchasing their products or services.
The market-research firm interviewed over 14,000 people for its 2013 Reputation Quotient which gauged consumer perceptions across 20 attributes of well-known companies grouped into six key areas that build on reputation and influence customer behavior.
The categories included in the survey were: Social responsibility, emotional appeal, products and services, workplace environment, financial performance, and vision and leadership.
This year the online retailer was able to narrowly beat Apple, which fell into second place, according to Mashable. Rounding out the top five are the Walt Disney Company, Google, and Johnson & Johnson.
Robert Fronk of Harris Interactive stated in the survey results for 2013 the emotional appeal of businesses and that even though Amazon is virtual retailer it was still able to connect with the public.
"Our results show that Amazon has managed to build an intimate relationship with the public without being perceived as intrusive," Fronk said. "And as the company that is so widely known for its personal recommendations, more than nine in ten members of the public would recommend Amazon to friends and family."
Last year's Harris Interactive survey found that Apple was on the top of the list followed by Google and Amazon.
The reason Fronk believed Amazon was able to take the top spot this year was due to the company's apparent focus on financial performance instead of the innovation factor that drew in many customers for their products, according to Apple Insider.
Harris Interactive posted a five minute summarization video that can be seen on the company's website.
