• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 30, 2010

A new ranking of the brands that inspire the highest level of customer loyalty puts Apple's iPhone—even with its well-publicized tech glitches—in the No. 1 spot, followed by Samsung's handsets, and Walmart. And by category, cosmetics and retailers inspired the most loyalty, according to the 10th annual top-50 Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders, an annual survey by Brand Keys.

"Brand loyalty is driven by emotion, but a little less so as the economy gets better," Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys founder and president, tells Marketing Daily. "People are wanting to engage with brands, but in a meaningful way—sometimes marketers mistake entertainment for engagement, but it's not the same."

After Apple's iPhone and Samsung, which were also both No. 1 and 2 in last year's survey, and Walmart, the top-10 list also includes Grey Goose vodka, Apple Computers, Hyundai, Amazon, J. Crew, Blackberry, and Avis.