Retail, pharmaceutical industries take perception hit: Gallup

The retail and pharmaceutical industries have taken a hit amid culture war battles over the past two years, according to new polling released Wednesday by Gallup.

Only 36 percent of Americans hold a positive view of the retail industry, down from 47 percent in 2022, according to data from Gallup.

The closings of stores in the wake of the pandemic have contributed to the slide, Gallup said.

“Over the past year, major U.S. retailers took center stage in the culture wars, while also making news for closing big-city stores and putting more merchandise behind locked glass, in response to what retailers are describing as an increase in organized retail crime,” Gallup analysis of the data read.

Separately, 18 percent of Americans hold a positive view of the pharmaceutical industry, down from 25 percent in 2022.

This shift was in large part because of Republicans; perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry by Republicans and Republican-leaning independents slid by 13 percent in the past year amid battles over vaccines.

In contrast, positive perceptions of the industry rose by 1 point among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.

“The pharmaceutical industry’s decline over the past year is the result of a 13-point drop in Republicans’ positive score, from 26% to 13%,” the Gallup analysis said. “This spans a period when some leading Republicans and conservative figures have been critical of the pharmaceutical industry generally, and of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots specifically.”

The airline, publishing industries and travel industries gained the most positive view percentage points in the last year, up by 8, 6 and 6 percent, respectively.

This poll was taken between Aug. 1-23 with a sample of 1,014 adults 18 and older across all 50 states. Each of the business sector ratings are based on interviews of approximately 500 adults 18 and older. According to Gallup, for samples of that size, there is a margin of sampling error of 5 percent.