Aldi still MoneySavers' favourite brand while Sports Direct is most loathed, poll shows

How did the poll work?

7,600 MoneySavers answered our latest Love or Loathe poll at the end of last month.

The poll asked respondents to pick up to five brands they 'love' and up to five brands they 'loathe', out of a total of 52 options. 

Aldi and Amazon are your most-loved brands

In 2016, you told us your favourite brands included Aldi, Amazon and John Lewis – and it looks like nothing's changed this time round.

Here are the top 10 most-loved brands according to MoneySavers:

1. Aldi, with 2,908 'love' votes (1st in 2016).

2. Amazon, with 2,623 'love' votes (2nd in 2016).

3. John Lewis, with 1,979 'love' votes (3rd in 2016).

4. M&S, with 1,788 'love' votes (4th in 2016).

5. Lidl, with 1,688 'love' votes (5th in 2016).

6. Ikea, with 1,565 'love' votes (7th in 2016).

7. Home Bargains, with 1,233 'love' votes (did not feature in 2016 poll).

8. eBay, with 1,230 'love' votes (9th in 2016).

9. Waitrose, with 1,180 'love' votes (6th in 2016).

10. Wilko, with 1,167 'love' votes (8th in 2016).

... while Sports Direct and Apple are your most-loathed

In 2016, MoneySavers' least favourite brands included Currys/PC World, Primark and WH Smith, and they're still attracting 'loathe' votes – but the wooden spoon is taken by Sports Direct after a controversial year.

However, it's worth noting there was some evidence that respondents organised on social media to vote against Sports Direct. It attracted a surprisingly high number of votes compared to other stores – though that may be in part because of intense criticism from disgruntled House of Fraser customers in the wake of its takeover of the department store. House of Fraser itself also shot up the 'most-loathed' rankings.Here are the top 10 most-loathed brands according to MoneySavers:

1. Sports Direct, with 2,913 'loathe' votes (did not feature in the 2016 poll).

2. Apple, with 1,557 'loathe' votes (4th in 2016).

3. Currys/PC World, with 1,164 'loathe' votes (3rd in 2016). 

4. House of Fraser, with 1,052 'loathe' votes (31st in 2016).

5. Primark, with 971 'loathe' votes (1st in 2016).

6. Amazon, with 820 'loathe' votes (13th in 2016).

7. WH Smith, with 813 'loathe' votes (7th in 2016).

8. Tesco, with 787 'loathe' votes (2nd in 2016).

9. Asda, with 756 'loathe' votes (6th in 2016).

10. Debenhams, with 698 'loathe' votes (26th in 2016).

What if you factor in 'love' AND 'loathe' votes?

We've also ranked the results looking at both 'love' and 'loathe' votes – calculating the net proportion of respondents who 'loved' or 'loathed' each brand. Where brands received the same percentage of 'love' and 'loathe' votes, we've ordered them by number of actual votes.

While Sports Direct and House of Fraser again attracted customer anger, a huge proportion of those who chose household store Wilko and John Lewis said they loved the brands.

Here are MoneySavers' most-loved brands, factoring in 'loathe' votes too: 

1. Wilko, with 94% 'love' votes (3rd in 2016).

2. John Lewis, with 91% 'love' votes (1st in 2016).

3. Home Bargains, with 89% 'love' votes (did not feature in the 2016 poll).

4. Lakeland, with 89% 'love' votes (6th in 2016).

5. Waterstones, with 89% 'love' votes (8th in 2016).

6. Aldi, with 87% 'love' votes (4th in 2016).

7. M&S, with 87% 'love' votes (2nd in 2016).

8. Waitrose, with 84% 'love' votes (7th in 2016). 

9. Lidl, with 80% 'love' votes (10th in 2016).

10. Sainsbury's, with 80% 'love' votes (8th in 2016).

And here are MoneySavers' most-loathed brands, factoring in 'love' votes too: 

1. Sports Direct, with 95% 'loathe' votes (did not feature in the 2016 poll).

2. House of Fraser, with 86% 'loathe' votes (22nd in 2016).

3. Currys/PC World, with 84% 'loathe' votes (2nd in 2016).

4. WH Smith, with 84% 'loathe' votes (1st in 2016).

5. Topshop/Topman, with 83% 'loathe' votes (3rd in 2016).

6. Jack Wills, with 81% loathe votes (4th in 2016).

7. Poundland, with 77% 'loathe' votes (27th in 2016).

8. Harrods, with 77% 'loathe' votes (did not feature in the 2016 poll).

9. Halfords, with 68% 'loathe' votes (did not feature in the 2016 poll).

10. Homebase, with 65% 'loathe' votes (7th in 2016).

What do the brands say?

A spokesperson for Aldisaid: "We are thrilled with the results of the poll on MoneySavingExpert. We really value our presence on the website and are glad to see their savvy readers love Aldi and think so highly of us."

A Wilkospokesperson said: "We’re thrilled that customers love Wilko and our products. We make sure that in everything we do, we put our customers' needs first, so they can get on with the more important things like enjoying their homes and the time they spend together. We free up hard-working families to be the best they can be with the right quality products at the right prices from stores and a website that people love to shop."

A spokesperson for Sports Direct said: "We don't believe this poll is a true reflection of customer opinion. By contrast, Sports Direct was listed as No. 1 in a top ten of the most improved global brands published by the YouGov BrandIndex earlier this year."

A House of Fraser spokesperson said: "We are surprised by this poll, as we have received positive feedback from customers since the business has been under new ownership, which has saved stores and jobs. We are confident this will be reflected in future polls."

A spokesperson for Dixons Carphone, which includes Currys and PC World, said: "Although the result of MoneySavingExpert's one-click poll of 7,600 people is disappointing, tens of thousands of our customers tell us each week through other independent online sites and our own surveys that they value our great pricing, wide range of products and the ease with which they can shop with us. Nevertheless, we listen to all feedback to ensure we provide the best experience for our customers."