Global Public Opinion Insights
GlobeScan research shows the large retail sector has reached a reputational plateau, and is seen as an average societal performer with limited momentum and sharp market and generational divides.
Global insights into how large retailers are seen in fulfilling their responsibilities to society.
Large retailers are among the most visible and frequently experienced companies in people’s daily lives through stores, apps, deliveries, and returns. As a result, public expectations around affordability, fair treatment of workers, and credible environmental responsibility are high and increasingly shape how the sector is judged.
This latest edition of GlobeScan’s long‑running societal reputation research examines how large retail companies are perceived across 33 markets, where reputational momentum is holding or stalling, and what growing regional and generational divides mean for international retailers operating in a high‑pressure environment.
Key insights include:
- Societal reputation is stable but average. Globally, large retail is viewed as an average performer in fulfilling its responsibilities to society, with perceptions remaining largely unchanged since 2021, following a brief peak in 2020.
- Regional differences are pronounced. Public perceptions of large retail are strongest in several emerging and Global South markets, while views are more negative across much of Europe and North America, creating material variation for international retailers.
- Reputational momentum is limited. Despite the sector’s central role in everyday life, large retail’s societal reputation shows little sign of advancement, pointing to a reputational plateau.
- Generational views constrain overall lift. Gen Z and Millennials hold more positive views of large retail’s societal performance, while older cohorts, particularly Baby Boomers and older, remain more skeptical, limiting overall reputational lift.
