July 7th, 2021, Bhawna Singh
Sports brands dominate the rankings, with three leading names featuring in the top 10 list
YouGov analysis reveals Emirates tops the list of UAE’s most recommended brands, with a Recommend score of 91.4%. Dubai’s flag carrier airlines’ top ranking follows its strong showings in YouGov’s 2020 Best Brand Rankings where it ranked first.
The rankings are based on YouGov BrandIndex’s positive Recommend score, which measures the percentage of a brand’s customers who would recommend it to a friend or colleague. Every brand in our Rankings has a minimum sample of 300 and has been tracked for at least 6 months, with all scores being rounded to a single decimal place.
As travel restrictions eased in the country, many flight services resumed operations. Alongside Emirates, Etihad Airways also makes an appearance in the list- in fifth (with a score of 86.3).
Amidst new launches, both iPhone and Samsung Galaxy strengthened their brand advocacy among customers, thereby securing a place in the UAE top 10 rankings. iPhone places second in the list (with a score of 89.4) and Samsung Galaxy takes the seventh spot (86.1).
The increased appetite for health & fitness during the pandemic gave a boost to the demand for sportswear and apparels across the globe. It is therefore not surprising to see three leading brands make the list: Adidas is placed third (88.8), Nike in fourth (86.9) and Skechers in the ninth (84.4) position, respectively.
Almarai’s proclamation to be world’s first brand to obtain a Pandemic Prepared Certification from AIB International for its food safety practices amidst the pandemic has certainly won over its customers, landing it the eighth position in the rankings (score of 84.9).
Emaar and Burj Al Arab complete the UAE top 10 rankings in sixth (86.1) and tenth (84.1), respectively.
YouGov also revealed the brands that made the greatest improvement to their Recommend score among customers over the past 12 months. IndiGo noted the biggest uplift (of +12.4) to its Recommend score, from 49.2 last year to 61.6 this year.
Two other airlines, flydubai and Air Arabia make an appearance in the list, with a change in score of 11.2 and 8.6, respectively.
The improvers list in UAE has a dominance of airlines and destinations, reflecting the building appetite for a holiday among residents. With the rapid progression of the vaccination drive across UAE, restrictions have eased and consumers’ confidence in stepping out has grown. A'l Bahar at the Corniche Abu Dhabi (12.1), Saadiyat Island (8.6), Reel Cinemas (7.6) and Yas Island Abu Dhabi (7.5) have fared notably well among their customers and secured a place in the list of improvers.
Finally, Extra Chewing Gum (8.3), Super Glue (7.9) and Domino’s Pizza (7.0) complete the 2021 improvers list in UAE.
Scott Booth, Head of Data Products, MENA, said, “This year has been exceptional for sportswear brands and they dominate the most recommended rankings in the UAE. We even see travel & airline brands strengthening their position among consumers. In addition to this, most improved brands are focussed on airlines and destinations, highlighting the building appetite for travel amidst rampant vaccination in the country.”
Methodology:
The YouGov Recommend Rankings 2021 are calculated using data we collect from members of the public in markets around the globe every day, from our flagship YouGov BrandIndex tool.
Every brand’s performance is tracked daily against a range of metrics, and our Recommend ranking measures the percentage of a brand’s customers who would recommend it to a friend or colleague. The rankings data can be further developed with YouGov Recommend+ a fresh approach to understanding consumer advocacy.
YouGov Recommend+ is a highly cost-effective NPS® diagnostics approach that gives marketers the full picture of what drives existing and potential promoters by speaking directly to those customers who recommend your brand.
YouGov BrandIndex draws data from interviews with our 15 million registered panel members across 40 sectors and more than 55 countries globally. This year’s ranking includes consumer views from across 33 markets, including the USA, China, Germany, India and the UK, and many more.