Amazon beats Apple, Google as most respected US firm

Online retailer Amazon has beaten Apple and Google to become the most respected company in the US, a report has said.

Last year Apple was at the top stop and Google at the second on Harris Interactive survey.

But Amazon leapfrogged them both to come out on top this year, leaving Apple a very close second, Disney third, Google fourth and Johnson and Johnson fifth, the Telegraph reports.

Amazon ranked in the top five in five of the six categories, the paper said.

It had a five-point advantage over any other company in the emotional appeal category, despite have an entirely virtual relationship with the public, it added.

Harris's Robert Fronk said that the results show that Amazon has managed to build an intimate relationship with the public without being perceived as intrusive.

Apple's score last year of 85.62 was the highest in the 13 years the report has been published.

The drop this year to 82.54 put it only marginally behind Amazon on 82.62.