New data from franchising providers What Franchise and market research firm YouGov finds that young people are more trusting of franchises than their older counterparts.

A plurality (41%) of 18-24-year-olds believe that franchises offer more consistency than standalone businesses in the products and services they provide compared to just 14% of those aged 55+, according to a report by What Franchise.

Of social media users, those who use LinkedIn are the most positive about franchises, with 36% trusting them to provide more consistent products and services than independent enterprises.

Franchisees reported 93% profitability in 2018, according to a report by the British Franchise Association and NatWest. Franchising has seen significant growth in recent years, with the number of franchised units increasing by 10% to 48,600 from 2015 to 2018.

The results of the YouGov survey, conducted from the 4th to the 5th of June 2019 and garnering over 2,000 responses, show that many people are unsure that there is a difference in the consistency of products and services offered between franchises and standalone businesses.

“These results show that franchises still have some way to go to convince the public that they are a safer bet when it comes to providing consistent products and services than standalone businesses,”

comments James Fell, representative of What Franchise.

Fell continues:

“We really need to dig deep and consider why people don’t see the added value of franchised businesses in the same way that franchise owners do”.