Aldi named as world's simplest brand

For the third year in a row, discount supermarketAldi has been named as the simplest brand in the world, giving customers the clearest, most efficient experience.

Siegel+Gale's Global Brand Simplicity Index ranks Google second worldwide, with Aldi's biggest rival, Lidl, third.

In the UK, they fall in a slightly different order, with Lidl in first place and Aldi in third.

And simplicity matters, says the branding firm, as it's one of the biggest attractions for consumers worn out by complicated deals and an overload of decision making. Apparently, 63% of people are willing to pay more for a straightforward experience, and 69% are more likely to recommend a simple brand.

"Brands that offer simpler customer experiences are rewarded with passionate customer loyalty, more innovative employees and greater revenue," says Howard Belk, co-CEO and chief creative officer, at Siegel+Gale.

"In short, embracing simplicity improves the bottom line for brands and organisations."

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At the other end of the scale, some companies are as complicated to deal with as ever. Bupa and AXA stayed firmly in the bottom ten of the 585 brands surveyed - showing that insurance small print is still far from simple.

Ryanair is also bumping along the bottom in the rankings, thanks to its complicated arrangements for ticketing, luggage and boarding.

In the UK, energy companies fared particularly badly, with British Gas, nPower, SSE, E.ON, EDF Energy and Scottish Power all appearing in the bottom ten. While switching between companies has supposedly been simplified, many people find it anything but.

Aldi and Lidl win out in the rankings by avoiding complicated deals and reducing shoppers' decision fatigue. Both supermarkets stock far fewer ranges than their traditional rivals - it's one of the ways they can keep prices down.

While Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury's stock between 20,000 and 30,000 lines, Aldi and Lidl offer fewer than 2,000. Earlier this year, Tesco announced plans to cut its number of lines from 90,000 to around 70,000.

The 2015 Global Brand Simplicity Index Top 10 Brands (UK)
1. Lidl
2. Google
3. Aldi
4. Premier Inn
5. Asda
6. Sainsbury's
7. McDonalds
8. Netflix
9. Tesco
10. Amazon

The 2015 Global Brand Simplicity Index Bottom 10 Brands (UK)
117. British Gas
118. Avis
119. LinkedIn
120. nPower
121. BlackBerry
122. Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE)
123. E.ON
124. EDF Energy
125. ScottishPower
126. AXA PPP Healthcare