The World’s Top Retail Companies, By Domestic Revenue
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The retail sector plays a vital role in powering economies, contributing $5.3 trillion annually to America’s GDP alone.
Moreover, the industry is America’s biggest private-sector employer, responsible for one of every four jobs, or 55 million employees. Yet in today’s challenging consumer environment, retailers are facing higher e-commerce penetration and inflationary pressures—across an industry notoriously known for razor-thin margins.
This graphic shows the world’s top retail companies by domestic revenue, based on data from the National Retail Federation.
Methodology
To be included in the rankings, companies must engage in a goods-for-consumer resale business accessible to the public and have direct selling operations in a minimum of three countries.
The rankings include both publicly and private companies, and are based on the most recent 52-week period analyzed by the National Retail Federation between January and March 2024. All revenue figures were converted to U.S. dollars.
Ranked: The Top 10 Global Retailers by Domestic Sales
Here are the leading retailers worldwide based on domestic sales as of 2023:
| Ranking | Retailer | Domestic Retail Revenue (USD) |
Share of Total Retail Revenue | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | $532.3B | 85% | U.S. |
| 2 | Amazon.com | $250.0B | 70% | U.S. |
| 3 | Costco | $175.4B | 75% | U.S. |
| 4 | The Home Depot | $142.0B | 94% | U.S. |
| 5 | Walgreens Boots Alliance | $105.1B | 89% | U.S. |
| 6 | Alibaba | $91.5B | 97% | China |
| 7 | Apple | $70.9B | 87% | U.S. |
| 8 | Aeon | $64.3B | 93% | Japan |
| 9 | Schwarz Group | $56.5B | 32% | Germany |
| 10 | Rewe | $55.5B | 75% | Germany |
Walmart towers ahead as the world’s largest retailer with $532 billion in domestic revenue—more than Amazon.com and Costco combined.
Known for its everyday low prices, Walmart achieves a competitive advantage through pricing goods approximately 25% cheaper than traditional retail competitors. Overall, groceries make up more than half of total sales. While its main customer base is often low and middle-income shoppers, the retail giant is seeing a surge in sales from higher-income customers as shoppers seek out lower grocery prices.
E-commerce giant, Amazon, is the second-biggest retailer globally, commanding nearly 40% of online retail sales in America. Since 2019, the number of Amazon employees has grown from 800,000 to over 1.5 million in 2023.
While the company has tried to introduce online grocery platforms to the market, it has largely fallen flat given its clunky system in a highly competitive market.
Like Amazon, China’s e-commerce juggernaut, Alibaba, stands as a leading global retailer. Overall, 97% of revenues were generated domestically through online marketplaces Taobao and Tmall. In recent years, the company has focused on international expansion, delivering products to 11 markets including America, in just five days.
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Disclosure: None
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