YouGov Research Reveals Most Recommended Brands of 2026

What makes a person want to recommend a brand? 

YouGov is attempting to answer that question in its report, US Most Recommended Brands 2026, which identifies the brands earning the highest percentage of positive recommendations from their current customers.

It also looks closely at the ways Americans share their experiences with brands – and just what motivates them to speak positively or negatively about an experience. 

Big winners from the report include Zara, which ranked as the most recommended brand, alongside Lush, Savage X Fenty and Vrbo – the most improved brand for recommendations.

“Recommendation is one of the strongest signals a brand can earn because it reflects a customer’s willingness to put their own experience behind an endorsement,” says Ryan Gross, SVP Data Products, Client Services at YouGov. 

“This year’s leaders show there is no single path to customer advocacy. Brands across categories are earning strong recommendations by creating experiences customers believe are worth sharing. 

“And with Americans considerably more likely to share positive brand experiences than negative ones, consistently delivering for customers can create a powerful advantage.”

The most recommended brands

Zara came up as YouGov’s most recommended brand by US customers for 2026 – with 90.5% of current customers saying they would recommend the brand to a friend or colleague. 

Respondents justified these recommendations with factors such as meeting trends, good pricing, product range and durability, with one respondent saying the products “can last for years”. 

Holiday rental platform Vrbo, meanwhile, was the most improved brand among current customers, rising from a low of 56.4% of customers saying they would recommend the brand in January 2025 to 89.5% saying the same in June 2026. 

According to YouGov, the increase coincided with the release of VrboCare, which strengthened host standards and guest protections alongside new promotions that offer targeted discounts. 

Other leaders included Toyota as the most recommended automotive brand, Samuel Adams as the most recommended alcoholic beverage brand and Lush as the most recommended beauty and personal care brand. 

Sharing positive brand experiences

According to YouGov, nearly two thirds of Americans (63%) shared an experience with a brand in the past three months. 

Within this group, 21% shared a negative experience and 32% shared a neutral experience – with almost half of respondents (49%) saying they shared a positive experience. 

The research found that consumers typically share good experiences to help others discover something good (46%), share their enjoyment of something (37%) and to support or reward a brand (32%). 

By contrast, those who shared a bad experience said they chose to do so to warn others (52%), because their experience fell below expectations (49%) and to hold the brand accountable (44%). 

Positive experiences were also much more likely to be shared publicly – with the research finding that 16% of respondents said they had posted a positive experience publicly on social media, and 27% said they had left a positive review or rating. 

Meanwhile, only 4% of respondents said they posted publicly on social media about a negative experience with a brand, and just 9% said they had left a negative review or rating. 

Who are YouGov’s most recommended brands?

Brands featured in YouGov’s top 10 most recommended brands from the past 12 months include: 

• Zara: Fashion retailer Zara took the top spot of YouGov’s ranking, with 90.5% of customers saying they would recommend the brand. 
• Lush: YouGov found Lush to be the second most recommended brand of 2026 amongst US customers. 
• Toyota: As the most recommended automotive brand, 89.2% of customers shared that they would recommend Toyota. 
• Rolex: Rolex sits at the number six spot, with 89.4% of customers saying they would recommend the brand.