Apple, Steelcraft and Dyson are the most loved brands of the year, while Dodo, Nestle and Australia Post are among the most disliked.

Based on over 65,000 reviews posted to productreviews.com.au this year, tech juggernaut Apple was the highest rated of the product brands, almost reaching a 4.5 star rating among its reviewers. It was eclipsed however by Booktopia which topped the retailer brands with a rating of 4.9 stars.

In the services category, Hire a Hubby won out.

At the other end of the scale, telecommunications company Dodo received a scathing 1.6 star rating while food manufactuer Nestle also rated poorly among the product brands on 1.7. Appliance brands Simpson and Whirlpool, as well as Australia Post, also made appearances in the bottom five.

The lowest ranking retail brands were dominated by deal websites, with Deals2U, Ouffer and Our Deal ranking in the bottom five.

In the services category, freight company Star Track Express was the most disliked brand, in a list which included fellow transportation companies Fastway and Allied Express and utilities Origin Energy and Australian Power & Gas.

ProductReview.com.au’s marketing manager, Samuel Williamson, believes any brand – whether multinational or niche and loved or hated by reviewers – needs to adopt a ‘caring and sharing, not selling and telling’ ethos.

“The online space is dynamic so it lets brands establish personal connections with individual customers, which is vital for building brand loyalty,” Williamson says.

“The need to listen online is more evident today than ever – in the past year we’ve seen a 38 per cent increase in visits to the site each day, and we believe this will rise in 2013 as consumers continue to trust reviews over traditional marketing messages.”

Productreview.com.au, receives three million visits from Australian consumers each month, who use it to share reviews and recommend or warn against products and services.