M&S sweeps YouGov fashion brand rankings

Marks & Spencer scored the top spot in multiple categories of the YouGov fashion brand rankings, getting the top spot for the brands consumers consider when they’re buying apparel, as well as perceived value and quality.

The YouGov BrandIndex report shows which brands consumers are considering when they’re in the market for apparel, and which brands they most associate with good quality and good value, based on responses from more than 22,000 adults in the UK between 1 February 2025, and 31 January 2026.

The report showed 52.4% of consumers would consider buying clothing from M&S, followed by NEXT, which scored 38.5%. Nike and Adidas follow closely in third and fourth place (scoring 38.5% and 37.9%).

Marks & Spencer has held a leading position in the ranking since 2021. Over the past year, it also posted the highest improvement in scoring for the consumer consideration category, rising by 1.6 points compared to 2025.

It also recorded the highest perceived quality score of any fashion brand, ahead of Nike and Adidas. The brand also ranks best for perceived value for money, followed by Tu Clothing and George at Asda.

Yet the picture starts to shift slightly when breaking down the consumer consideration category into a generational split.

While Gen X and Baby Boomer consumers both put Marks & Spencer in the top spot, Millennial consumers put Nike as their number one, and M&S as a close second.

When it comes to Gen Z consumers, they show a high preference for sportswear brands, with Nike earning the top spot, closely followed by Adidas. H&M landed in third place, with M&S in fourth place. This shows that younger consumers have a clear preference for sportswear brands.

Sportswear brand Adidas recently reported a 5% increase in revenues to €24.8  billion, with double-digit growth across all markets and channels earlier this month, emphasising "strong structural trends" in the sportswear sector, including increasing sports participation rates, growing health and fitness awareness, the ongoing popularity of athletic and sport-inspired products for everyday use, and growing demand for comfort-driven propositions.

Marks & Spencer cheered a record number of shoppers over Christmas as festive food sales leapt higher, but its fashion, beauty and homeware division was squeezed by the ongoing impact of last year’s cyber attack. Two days ago the retailer launched its ‘Love That’ campaign, appointing actress Gillian Anderson as its first-ever "Chief Compliments Officer".