Amazon Smokes Target in Latest Popularity Poll

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YouGov's annual brand popularity poll is out, and it's got more bad news for brick and mortar retailers. In the discounters category, Amazon handily smoked competitors Target, Kohl's, Costco, and JC Penney.

To come up with the rankings, YouGov conducts more than a million interviews with 5,000 consumers and asks them whether they've heard anything good or bad about brands in the prior two weeks. A score of 100 means all positive responses, while a score of -100 would mean all bad ones.

WWD got early access to the results, which will be officially released today. According to the trade publication, Amazon scored an impressive 36.8 in the discounters category, compared to Target's 31.1, which landed them in second place.

Amazon's score also trumps Victoria's Secret numbers, who earned top honors in the apparel retailers category with a score of 21.4. J.C. Penney narrowly missed first place in that category with a nearly identical score (they were also awarded 21.4 due to rounding); Old Navy was third with a rating of 20.6; Men's Wearhouse came in next at 18.5, and Macy's rounded out the top five with 16.3. Levi's nailed first place in the apparel and footwear category with a solid 25.7.

In other words, 2012 was a very good year for Amazon. But you already knew that.
· Victoria's Secret, Levi's Top Brand Ranking Study [WWD]
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