Marks & Spencer is the UK's most family-friendly brand, according to shoppers.

The retailer was judged as having the most caring and trustworthy image of 97 brands in a poll of 1,500 consumers conducted by The FamilyBrands.

The Co-op Group came second, Morrisons fifth, Waitrose eighth and Sainsbury 10th. Tesco was ranked just 13th, while Asda came 15th.

Retailers had dominated the rankings because their proximity and scale had enabled them to build a rapport with consumers, said Steve Hastings, planning partner at Isobel, which conducted the research in association with YouGov.

The recession had made consumers focus more on their homes and family, giving family-facing brands an advantage when it came to forging the emotional links that kept people choosing them, he said. "The bigger retailers have positioned themselves as caring, with schemes such as M&S's Plan A and Waitrose's Community Matters," he said.

Four suppliers made it into the top 10, Kellogg's taking fourth place, Warburtons sixth, Andrex seventh and Cadbury ninth.