Zara tops YouGov’s 2026 U.S. Most Recommended Brands ranking as Vrbo posts biggest gain

Zara ranks as the most recommended brand in the U.S. in YouGov’s 2026 Most Recommended Brands rankings, with 90.5% of its current customers saying they would recommend the brand to a friend or colleague. Lush follows closely at 90.3%, with Savage X Fenty third at 90.1%.

The new report, powered by YouGov BrandIndex, identifies the brands earning the highest percentage of positive recommendations from their current customers, the brands making the biggest year-over-year gains and the leaders across seven major sectors. It also examines how Americans share their experiences with brands and what motivates them to speak positively or negatively about those experiences.

Key findings:

• Zara leads the national ranking with a 90.5% positive Recommend score, followed by Lush (90.3%), Savage X Fenty (90.1%), PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS (89.5%) and HOKA (89.5%). Rolex, Bloomberg, Toyota, Super Mario Bros. and Call of Duty complete the top 10 in the U.S.
• Vrbo records the largest year-over-year improvement, with its positive Recommend score rising 9.2 percentage points, from 69.2% to 78.4%. WE tv follows with an 8.3-point increase, while Live Nation gains 7.7 points.
• Recommendation leaders span a wide range of sectors. Toyota leads automotive at 89.2% of customers recommending, Samuel Adams tops alcoholic beverages at 88.7%, Liquid I.V. leads non-alcoholic beverages at 88.1%, Lush ranks first in beauty and personal care at 90.3%, Kerrygold leads CPG food at 87.9%, Bloomberg tops financial services at 89.4% and In-N-Out Burger leads dining at 87.3%.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) shared an experience they had with a brand in the previous three months. Almost half (49%) shared a positive experience, compared with 32% who shared a neutral experience and 21% who shared a negative one.
• Americans often share good experiences to help others and bad experiences to protect them. Among those sharing positive experiences, 46% say they wanted to help others discover something good. Among negative experience sharers, 52% wanted to warn others, while 49% said the experience fell below expectations and 44% wanted to hold the brand accountable.

“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,” said 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.”

Download the full report here.

Methodology

YouGov’s Most Recommended Brands 2026 rankings are powered by YouGov BrandIndex and based on positive Recommend scores among current customers from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Brands must have a minimum sample of 300 and at least six months of BrandIndex data to qualify. Recommend measures whether customers would recommend a brand to a friend or colleague. Current customers are defined based on reported purchase, with the qualifying timeframe varying by sector. Most-improved rankings compare the 2025–26 period with the preceding 12 months and require at least 18 months of available data. The charities and non-profits sector was excluded from these rankings.

Consumer experience findings are based on a YouGov survey conducted June 9 to July 8, 2026 across 18 markets, including among 1,507 U.S. adults. U.S. responses reported are weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population.