UK fashion retailer rankings: M&S is the most considered fashion brand

YouGov BrandIndex asks consumers a range of questions about fashion retailers every day: covering their general impressions, their level of satisfaction, the likelihood of them recommending a brand to their friends or colleagues, and much more. 

Our UK fashion retailer rankings focuses on three key metrics: Consideration, Value , and Quality scores. One company was clearly ahead of the pack in each of these categories.

At 52.4%, Marks & Spencer is the UK’s most considered fashion brand by some 13.9 percentage points. To put this dominance into context, the 13.8-point gap between the second (38.5) and tenth-placed (24.7) brands is comparable to the gap between first and second place (13.9). 

As for the rest of the table: Next and Nike (who top the tables for Gen Z) occupy the second and third-ranked spots (each earning a score of 38.5%), with Adidas close behind in fourth (37.9). The budget retailer Primark completes the top five with a score of 31.5. 

M&S is also the fashion brand with the most improved Consideration score 

What the above arguably tells us, of course, is something we already know: that M&S is a well-liked brand. But what makes its 2026 performance especially strong is that it was also the UK’s most improved fashion retailer in terms of Consideration scores. Its 2025 score of 52.4

M&S enjoyed a strong Christmas, and is a well-liked brand in general, but fashion-centric campaigns such as its “We’re Back” promotion last autumn, or its participation in the ITV series M&S Dress the Nation: The Design Challenge may have helped bolster its standing further. 

Image: Getty

The remainder of the top three was comprised of sports brands, with New Balance and JD Sports both registering improvements of 0.9 points. Next and Hollister claim fourth and fifth spots respectively, with each brand seeing an uptick of 0.6 points. 

Our Value and Quality Rankings also emphasise the strength of M&S as a fashion brand, with the retailer claiming top spot for each table (Quality: 60.0; Value : 38.8). To find out which other brands made the list, download the full UK Fashion Retailer Rankings here.