Dell Laptops tops India’s most desired brands list for sixth year

MUMBAI: In the race for consumer desire, Dell continues to hold the winning hand, keeping its crown as India’s most desired brand for the sixth consecutive year. But the latest rankings suggest the competition is anything but asleep, with Amazon climbing to second place, OPPO making a 26-place leap and Vivo surging 37 places in TRA Research’s Most Desired Brands Report 2026.

Released on 16 October, the 12th edition of the report places Dell Laptops at number one, followed by Amazon, which climbed four positions. Apple iPhone, last year’s runner-up, slipped to third, while OPPO advanced to fourth. Sony Televisions rose seven places to fifth and Vivo jumped 37 positions to sixth, putting three mobile phone brands among the top six.

The rankings are based on face-to-face interviews with 3,286 peer-influencers across 16 Indian cities between March and September 2026. The study assessed more than 3,200 brands named by respondents before selecting and ranking 1,000 of them. The results offer a snapshot of which brands are making the strongest impression on consumers, even as familiar names trade places and newer contenders work their way up.

“Desire is where buying intent starts,” said TRA Research CEO N. Chandramouli. He noted that only five brands from the previous year’s top 10 retained their positions, while more than 260 brands entered the top 1,000 for the first time.

The churn was particularly visible among established names. Titan Watches, which had held third place for the previous two years, fell to seventh. LIC climbed two places to eighth, Hewlett Packard Laptops rose eight positions to ninth, and Honda Motorcycles gained one place to complete the top 10.

Five brands from last year’s top 10 fell out of the group altogether. Tanishq dropped from fifth to 24th, MI slipped from fourth to 26th and boAt moved from seventh to 34th. Godrej Interio fell from ninth to 54th, while Acer suffered the sharpest fall among these brands, plunging from eighth to 216th.

The movement was not confined to the top 10. Bata climbed 63 places to 11th, while Samsung Televisions also gained 63 positions to reach 13th. HDFC Bank advanced 86 places to 14th, and Tata Motors rose 97 positions to 15th. Amul Milk recorded a 119-place jump to 18th, while State Bank of India made the biggest climb into the top 25, rising 139 places to 23rd.

Not every brand enjoyed a lift. D-Mart and Flipkart each slipped six positions, landing at 19th and 20th, respectively. Even so, there was some continuity amid the reshuffle: 30 brands from last year’s top 50 remained in the top 50 in 2026.

FMCG continued to have the largest footprint across the full ranking, accounting for 151 of the 1,000 brands. Food and beverage followed with 122 brands, ahead of consumer electronics at 77 and automobiles at 74. Digital and banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) each contributed 62 brands. Together, these six categories accounted for 548 brands, or more than half of the entire list.

The picture looked different within the top 100, where consumer electronics led with 17 brands, followed by automobiles with 12. At the individual category level, air conditioners had the highest representation across the top 1,000, with 21 brands. Televisions followed with 20 and mobile phones with 17, while skincare accounted for 15. Passenger vehicles, refrigerators and washing machines each had 13 brands in the ranking.

The report also recorded 262 first-time entrants in the top 1,000, although none broke into the top 100. Lipton Green Tea was the highest-ranked newcomer at 119th, followed by Sunfeast Yippee Noodles at 149th, Naturals Ice Cream at 154th and TVS Scooters at 191st.

Some of the biggest leaps came from brands that were much further down the previous year’s list. Hawkins Pressure Cookers climbed 671 places to rank 100th, while Raymond advanced 281 places to 50th. IFB Washing Machines gained 269 positions to reach 96th, Surya Lighting rose 268 places to 79th, and Jockey climbed 212 places to 95th.

Blinkit recorded the biggest improvement across the entire list, surging 980 places to 297th. Lloyd Washing Machines followed with a 943-place rise to 275th, while Netflix jumped 929 places to 290th. IFB Refrigerators advanced 879 places to 200th, and Paytm climbed 828 positions to 145th.

The sharpest falls were equally striking. Hyundai Creta plunged 780 places to 919th, Chai Point dropped 721 positions to 975th, and Videocon Air Conditioners fell 678 places to 984th. Gucci declined 608 places to 798th, while Mysore Sandal slipped 591 positions to 861st.

The broader takeaway is a ranking where brand familiarity alone does not guarantee a place near the top. Dell’s six-year run at number one shows remarkable consistency, but the movement among electronics, digital platforms, financial services and consumer brands suggests that the race for attention remains fluid. With more than a quarter of the top 1,000 made up of first-time entrants, the next edition could bring another round of reshuffling.