Public views retail, pharma more negatively than in the past: Poll

Public views retail, pharma more negatively than in past: Poll

People's views of pharmaceutical, retail industries at record low
Democrats drove negative views of retail, while GOP caused pharma's
Gallup says this is due to culture wars, vaccine criticism

Updated: Sep 13, 2023 / 04:17 PM CDT

(Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Americans have a more negative view of the retail and pharmaceutical industries than they did a year ago, a Gallup poll found.

Meanwhile, airline, travel and publishing were seen in a more favorable light, according to the poll.

In 2023, 18% of people had a very or somewhat positive view of the pharmaceutical industry, a dip from 25% in 2022. The retail industry also declined to 36% of people feeling positive about it in 2023, compared to 47% in 2022.

These are the lowest ratings Gallup has recorded for each industry in annual trends since 2001, based on a “nationally representative telephone poll” taken from Aug. 1 through the 23rd.

Gallup attributed this retail decline to the fact that many businesses took “center stage” in the culture wars over the past years and how some have closed big-city stores, claiming increases in organized retail crime. However, outlets such as CNBC point out that many retailers who blame rising crime for inventory losses and closures do not share data proving exactly how much it costs them. Experts told CNBC some companies also overstate theft’s impact on profits to deflect blame from internal flaws.

It was Democrats who Gallup said contributed the most to the decline in retail’s public perception. Democrats’ positive rating of the sector dipped 12 points since last August. Republicans’ retail industry views haven’t changed significantly, Gallup said, although they had a sharp decline in 2021.

On the other hand, the pharmaceutical industry already had a negative public image. About 60% of people felt negatively about it, Gallup wrote. Republicans were the ones who caused this decline, Gallup said, as it spans a period when leading GOP figures were critical of the industry and of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots specifically.

Before that, Republicans had a positive rating of the industry that surged as high as 45% during the Trump administration.

Retail and pharmaceutical industries were the only ones to see meaningful change in Gallup’s survey. The restaurant, farming and computer industries remained the most popular.