Why Americans love Amazon: A look at why the brand keeps getting stronger

Amazon sits at the top of YouGov’s Best Brand Rankings 2026 in the US, ranking first overall on Index score. With a score of 54.5, Amazon leads a diverse mix of brands.

Amazon’s rise to this top spot has not been without challenge. The pandemic years placed substantial strain on its supply chain, driving delivery delays, higher costs, and operational complexity through 2020 and 2021. But after a dip in scores during that time period, Amazon has soared to new highs. Over the past five years, YouGov BrandIndex data shows a steady improvement in Amazon’s overall brand health, with Index scores climbing year after year. Index score is a composite of six YouGov BrandIndex metrics - Impression, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, Reputation and Recommendation. These are metrics indicative of overall brand health.

Amazon’s status as a national icon is highlighted by its surge in Index scores across consumers everywhere in the U.S. – be it in towns or villages, cities or the suburbs. Amazon’s overall Index score among Americans has risen sharply, climbing steadily from an average of around 44.7 at the start of 2021 to a high of 61 at the end of 2024, before settling at around 55.7 the end of 2025.

While growth has been broad-based, the increase has been especially pronounced among urban consumers. Amazon’s Index score among city dwellers rose by almost 22 points between 2021 and its 2024 peak. By the close of 2025, the Index score among urban Americans stood at 58.3, ahead of those living in towns or rural areas (54.3) and suburban consumers (53.8). This is especially notable given that urban consumers recorded Amazon’s lowest Index score of all location segments at the start of 2021.

Amazon in 2025: Satisfaction leads, Reputation lags behind

Looking at Amazon’s BrandIndex performance in 2025, the brand’s strengths are clearly concentrated around functional, experience-led metrics. Satisfaction is particularly strong, standing at 63.1 overall and rising sharply among older consumers, peaking at 66.8 among those aged 50+. A similar pattern appears for Impression and Quality, where over-50s are significantly more positive than younger adults, suggesting Amazon’s reliability and consistency resonate most strongly with older shoppers.

By contrast, Value is more evenly distributed across age groups, with little separation between younger and older consumers — reinforcing the idea that Amazon’s value proposition travels well across generations. The main area of relative weakness is Reputation, which remains subdued across all age groups, particularly among older consumers, highlighting an ongoing tension between Amazon’s value as a consumer brand and broader concerns around corporate impact. It is worth noting that Reputation, which measures the openness of consumers to work for a company, is relatively low for most brands. In the YouGov's Best Brand Rankings list in the U.S., Amazon’s 37.2 has it rank fifth on the Reputation metric.

High scores for Recommendation (59.0 overall) indicate that positive personal experience continues to outweigh reputational concerns for most consumers.

The story behind the metrics: What consumers say about Amazon

So what do consumers think about Amazon, in their own words? YouGov BrandIndex Voices harnesses AI to analyze large-scale qualitative conversations. Based on interviews with over 300 U.S. adults with a positive impression of Amazon, analysis shows that while Amazon performs well across most dimensions, there are some points of concern. There's an unease about what shopping on Amazon really means. While people love the ease and affordability, some express guilt about the impact on local businesses, warehouse workers, and the environment.

Yet that conflict rarely translates into avoidance. Instead, convenience and ease consistently outweigh concerns, allowing positive day-to-day experiences to dominate overall brand sentiment. YouGov BrandIndex Voices data tells us: Amazon has become the default shopping solution because it removes friction from daily life. People appreciate not having to drive to multiple stores, being able to shop at any hour, and having items arrive at their doorstep within days—sometimes overnight. The platform has essentially replaced the need to plan shopping trips around store hours and locations.

This could be why Amazon’s Satisfaction score of 63.1 is the highest out of all brands featured in YouGov’s Best Brand Rankings for the U.S.

BrandIndex Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Amazon's Index score is an average of Impression, Value, Quality, Satisfaction, and Recommend scores. Index score is reported as net scores from –100 to +100, based on surveyed U.S. adults. Based on scores between January 1st, 2025, and December 31st, 2025. Minimum sample size of 300. Scores available for at least 6 months (183 days).

YouGov BrandIndex Voices methodology: Qualitative analysis for Amazon comes from YouGov BrandIndex Voices. AI-powered interview conversations and analysis uncover the ‘why’ behind consumer opinion and explore the themes that consumers want to talk about. Responses were collected from a minimum of 300 adults in the U.S. who have a positive impression about the brand between January 2-9, 2026. This analysis was completed with AI, AI can make mistakes.