(Click on image to enlarge)

The global retail landscape is constantly evolving, driven by shifting consumer habits and the growing dominance of online sales.

Despite the rise of e-commerce, many of the top retailers worldwide generate the bulk of their sales in physical stores. However, as customers prioritize convenience and a wider selection of goods, e-commerce giants are capturing an increasing share of the retail market.

This graphic shows the world’s leading retailers by revenue, based on data from the National Retail Federation.

The Methodology

To be included in the rankings, companies must engage in a goods-for-consumer resale business accessible to the public. Additionally, they must and have direct selling operations in a minimum of three companies. The rankings include both public and private companies, based on the most recent 52-week period ending between January and March 2024. All revenue figures were converted to U.S. dollars.

Ranked: The Top 20 Global Retailers

Below, we show the world’s leading retail giants by revenue:

As the largest retailer by sales globally, Walmart (WMT) raked in $628.6 billion dollars in revenue, with 84.7% of its revenue being domestic.

Today, about 90% of Americans are located within 10 miles of a Walmart store, attracting 200 million visitors each month. To gain a greater edge in the market, Walmart is expanding its advertising business, launching a premium product line, and growing its digital sales channels.

Additionally, it is opening 150 stores in the U.S. over the next five years, its largest expansion in almost a decade.

With $355.1 billion in sales, e-commerce titan Amazon (AMZN) ranks in second. In 2024, the company is projected to account for 40.4% of U.S. e-commerce sales. Along with this, Amazon operates physical stores through its Whole Foods subsidiary, Amazon Go, and Amazon Fresh storefronts, yet these make up a fraction of its total retail sales.

As Asia’s largest retailer, Alibaba (BABA), falls in ninth place, driven by its Taobao and Tmall online marketplace platforms. While domestic sales comprise the majority of its retail revenues, the company is increasingly focusing on its overseas business given sluggish domestic consumption in China. Notably, retail sales jumped 44% year-over-year across its international retail operations as of the quarter ending in December 2023.

Despite regulatory crackdowns in recent years, it is the seventh-largest company by market cap in the country as of March 2024 across publicly traded firms.

Retailers With the Highest International Revenues

Across the top 20 retailers by revenue, Germany’s Schwarz Group generated the most sales from international revenues, at $119.9 billion.

As Europe’s largest retailer, Schwarz Group operates in 30 countries worldwide, with overseas operations accounting for 68% of all revenues. Overall, the family-owned multinational serves 7.2 billion customers annually across 14,112 stores.

Swedish furniture giant, IKEA, generates 96.6% of its retail revenues from international stores, the highest share overall. Given that Sweden is known for its steep corporate tax rates, the company strategically expanded its operations worldwide, while retaining the core essence of its brand.

In recent years, the company has experimented with creating more compact stores in urban centers, unlike its traditional suburban warehouses. Through this strategy, its aiming to drive revenues from higher traffic volume in malls as opposed to customers who travel to stores less frequently, but buy more products.

Beyond these retail giants, a number of European chains generate more than half of their revenues from international operations, including Germany’s discount grocery company, Aldi, and France’s Carrefour.

More By This Author:

Ranked: Which NBA Team Takes Home The Most Revenue?
Stock Buybacks By The Magnificent Seven
The 20 Biggest Tech Companies By Market Cap