Three people are standing in a REWE supermarket and smiling at each other. Two people are shaking hands. Half of the background is red and the other half shows the supermarket's vegetable section.

NIQ survey finds customers trust cooperatives the most

A representative NIQ survey recently commissioned by the REWE Group has found that cooperatives are the most trusted types of company due to their values of fairness, stability and the common good. Despite this, more than 60% of people have little idea how they work.

In uncertain times, economic stability and social accountability are greatly valued. A recent representative survey conducted by NIQ on behalf of the REWE Group has found that cooperatives are extremely popular with the German public on account of their trustworthiness, resilience to crises and focus on the common good.

To mark the International Day of Cooperatives (CoopsDay) on 5 July 2025, the REWE Group presented the key findings from this survey, and the message was loud and clear: the cooperative economic model has a strong future, even though many people do not really know much about it.

  • Two people are standing in front of the cheese counter in a REWE supermarket, laughing and shaking hands.
Infographic on the results of a NiQ study on cooperatives. The graphic shows that 60% of Germans know little about how cooperatives work.
  • Two people stand facing each other, smiling, and give each other a high five. In the background, there is a bench in front of a brick wall.

Number one for public confidence

As we hurtle from one crisis to another, from inflation and energy shortages to societal fragmentation, trust is a rare commodity. It is all the more remarkable then that cooperatives enjoy the most public confidence of all types of company.

36% of respondents expressed a high level of confidence in cooperatives – significantly more than public limited companies (15.6%) or private companies (22.5%).

And yet, a high proportion of the German public (more than 60%) has little to no idea of what a cooperative is or how it works.

Infographic on the results of a NiQ study on cooperatives. The graphic shows that 36% of respondents have a high level of trust in cooperatives.

The cooperative economic model has a future because it is founded on social accountability and commercial success. According to our survey, anyone familiar with the principle has a particularly high level of trust in cooperatives. This confirms that our approach is the right one and encourages us to stay on this course.

Lionel Souque, Chief Executive Officer

Portrait of Lionel Souque

Lionel Souque, Chief Executive Officer

Infographic on the results of a NiQ study on cooperatives. The graphic shows that 64% of respondents associate cooperatives with a focus on the common good.
  • Child stands in front of apple tree and holds apple in front of face.

Younger generation sees a future in the cooperative model

The confidence of younger people, in particular, in cooperatives is particularly high:

  • 31% of 18 to 39-year-olds view it as a model with a future,

  • while 40% of those under 29 are confident that cooperatives are able to leverage digitalisation to benefit people – far ahead of PLCs and private companies.

  • What’s more, the better people understand the model, the greater their confidence, meaning that this figure rises to more than 72% among respondents who are more familiar with the model.

Infographic on the results of a NiQ study on cooperatives. The graphic shows that over a third of respondents consider cooperatives to be crisis-proof, and 40.1% perceive cooperatives as being strongly rooted in the region.

2025: The International Year of Cooperatives

The United Nations (UN) proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives. This year’s theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World” honours the role of cooperatives as drivers of social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

The results of the NiQ survey show that public confidence in the cooperative economy is more relevant than ever has the potential to be improved even further – an opportunity that should not be missed.

  • A REWE salesperson is smiling and chatting with a customer in the store.

  • About the survey

    The survey was conducted in June 2025 by the market research company NIQ (GfK) on behalf of the REWE Group and included around 1,000 people aged 18 and over in Germany. The aim was to analyse the public’s perception of and confidence in different types of company, especially the cooperative model.

  • The REWE Group: a cooperative with history and integrity

    The REWE Group has been a cooperative since 1927. With around 380,000 employees, it is one of the largest retail and tourism groups in Europe. All brands, including REWE, PENNY, toom Baumarkt and DERTOUR Group, promote cooperative values such as partnership, regionality, reliability and fairness.

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