A report from Havas has looked at the top 1,000 brands in the UK and established that a number of popular retailers are amongst the most meaningful to consumers, according to The Drum.

Almost two thirds of respondents to the study said that if Amazon were to disappear from the retail market they would be disappointed, enabling it to top the list in terms of consumer engagement and its social impact.

Report spokesperson, Paul Frampton, explained that modern consumers were looking for more than pure brand recognition from retailers, but also want to see them doing more to build relationships with customers and communities. This is something that safe shopping online makes easier to achieve, since Amazon and its contemporaries can reach audiences on a national and global level with ease.

Frampton also pointed out that in spite of Amazon’s successes, the majority of brands are not perceived as doing anything to actively improve the lives of customers, with just seven per cent of organisations falling into this category.

The UK’s top five brands were all retailers, with Marks & Spencer coming in second place behind Amazon, just ahead of John Lewis. Budget supermarket chain, Aldi, earned fourth position, making it clear that there has been a real boom in low price shopping in the bricks and mortar market, while Sainsbury’s rounded off this elite group.

Interestingly on a global level, retailers are less commonly seen in the study, which encompassed 300,000 respondents. Samsung managed to beat Google to the top spot, while Ikea and Walmart managed to make it into the top 20.

Amazon was also amongst the most meaningful brands, but while it may dominate the market for shopping online in the UK, it is still outmoded by rivals in places like China.