Gitnux/Report 2026

Retail Store Industry Statistics

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104Sources
12Sections
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Retail Store Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Gitnux editors write the brief first: the topic, the inclusion rules, and the frame for what belongs.

02Source Research

Agents search the published record and log every extracted figure back to the passage it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The retail store industry at a glance

U.S. retail sales are forecast to reach $5.6 trillion in 2026, with online commerce continuing to expand while retail employment declined by 47,000 jobs in 2025.

$5.6T[13]
2026 retail sales forecast
$1.234T[93]
2025 e-commerce sales
15.4M[55]
Retail trade employment, 2025
$6.975T[94]
2022 retail trade revenue
Market size
The 2022 Economic Census recorded $6.975 trillion in U.S. retail-trade sales, receipts or revenue across 644,146 firms and 1,040,277 establishments. The National Retail Federation forecasts total retail sales of $5.6 trillion for 2026, using a different coverage and methodology.[94][13]
Forecast & CAGR
The National Retail Federation forecasts 4.4% growth in U.S. retail sales in 2026 compared with 2025, above the 3.6% average annual growth rate over the ten years excluding the pandemic period. A reliable multi-year retail-store CAGR was not identified in the sources reviewed.[13]
Market share & regions
The 2022 Economic Census reports national retail-trade revenue of $6.975 trillion and provides state-level results through the Census data table, but the source reviewed did not expose a concise regional-share ranking. Walmart U.S. alone reported $482.975 billion in fiscal 2026 net sales and operated 4,605 U.S. stores.[94][23]
Segmentation
In the 2022 Economic Census, retail trade included 80,419 motor-vehicle-and-parts-dealer firms generating $1.595 trillion in revenue, including 40,014 automobile-dealer firms generating $1.346 trillion. The Census retail program covers establishments classified across NAICS Sector 44–45 and publishes results by detailed subsector.[94][95]
Key players & concentration
Large omnichannel chains remain significant: Walmart U.S. reported $482.975 billion in fiscal 2026 net sales, equal to 69% of Walmart's consolidated fiscal 2026 net sales, and operated 4,605 stores. Supplier disclosures also identify Amazon, Costco, TJX and Walmart as major retail customers, indicating substantial buyer concentration in many product categories.[23]
Pricing
The FTC's Unfair or Deceptive Fees rule took effect on May 12, 2025 and requires covered businesses to disclose mandatory fees upfront for live-event tickets and short-term lodging. The rule does not prohibit particular fee amounts or pricing strategies, but it targets incomplete or misleading price disclosures.[96]
Trends, drivers & challenges
E-commerce sales reached $1.234 trillion in 2025 and represented 16.4% of total U.S. retail sales, while total retail sales increased 3.5% from 2024. Retail trade employment declined by 47,000 in 2025, with losses concentrated in health and personal care, furniture and related stores, and building-material retailers.[93][55]
Consumer behavior & competition
Online retail accounted for 16.4% of U.S. retail sales in 2025, up from 16.1% in 2024, showing continued migration toward digital purchasing while stores remain the majority channel. NRF expects November–December 2026 holiday sales to rise 4.2% to $1.013 trillion, but cites higher gas prices, persistent inflation, interest rates and elevated consumer debt as constraints.[93][50]
M&A
The FTC and a bipartisan coalition of nine state attorneys general successfully blocked Kroger's proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons after a preliminary injunction on December 10, 2024. In fuel retail, the FTC finalized a consent order on November 19, 2025 concerning Alimentation Couche-Tard's proposed $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 Giant Eagle fuel outlets.[96]
Regulation
The FTC's fee-transparency rule became effective May 12, 2025 for live-event tickets and short-term lodging, requiring mandatory charges to be disclosed in the total upfront price. Antitrust enforcement also remains material for retail consolidation: the FTC challenged Kroger's $24.6 billion Albertsons transaction and obtained a preliminary injunction in December 2024.[96]
Latest news
As of October 27, 2026, the National Retail Federation forecast November–December 2026 holiday retail sales of $1.013 trillion, up 4.2% from 2025. NRF expects retailers to hire 325,000–375,000 seasonal workers, compared with an estimated 356,000 in the prior year.[50]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Retail Store Industry

The leading companies in the retail store industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Schwarz Group leads Gitnux's 2026 retail store ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with €176.9 billion in fiscal 2025 Lidl and Kaufland store revenue. Fast Retailing is the highest-ranked apparel retailer at 9.0, driven by ¥3.963 trillion in FY2026 revenue.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in discount grocery retail

    Schwarz Group

    DE

    Ranked #1 · 9.3 · Discount grocery retail

    Why we picked it: Discount grocery operations generate large store revenue globally through Lidl and Kaufland.

    See in ranking ↓Visit gruppe.schwarz ↗

  2. Leader in apparel retail

    Fast Retailing

    JP

    Ranked #2 · 9.0 · Apparel retail

    Why we picked it: Apparel retail chains and brands operate 3,510 stores on reported FY2026 scale.

    See in ranking ↓Visit fastretailing.com ↗

  3. Leader in mass retail and omnichannel

    Walmart

    US

    Ranked #3 · 9.0 · Mass retail and omnichannel

    Why we picked it: Mass retail and omnichannel operations anchor scale with reported fiscal 2025 revenue.

    See in ranking ↓Visit walmart.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the retail store industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Schwarz Group

Discount grocery retail · DE

9.3
2

Fast Retailing

Apparel retail · JP

9.0
3

Walmart

Mass retail and omnichannel · US

9.0
4

Costco

Membership warehouse retail · US

8.8
5

CVS Health

Pharmacy and health retail · US

8.7
6

The Home Depot

Home improvement retail stores, North America · US

8.4
7

ALDI US

Discount grocery stores, United States · US

8.3
8

Carrefour

Multiformat food retail stores, global · FR

8.2
9

The TJX Companies

Off-price apparel and home retail stores, global · US

8.1
10

H&M Group

Fashion retail stores and brands, global · SE

8.0

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the retail store industry. In Retail Store Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/retail-store-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Retail trade sales by U.S. Census division

South Atlantic leads with $1.4T.

South Atlantic$1.4T
Pacific$1.2T
Middle Atlantic$983.6B
East North Central$965.2B
West South Central$821.8B
Mountain$553.5B
source-verifieddata.census.gov

03 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI, store-intelligence, and in-store hardware adoption show a continuing move from exploration to implementation; 66% had moved beyond testing in 2025.

AI in the retail store industry

  • 17% of US and European retailers were exploring AI for stores in 2025.[1]
  • 27% of US and European retailers were scaling AI in stores in 2025.[1]
  • 83% of US and Canadian retailers were scaling or exploring AI investments in 2024.[2]
  • 24% of US and European retailers were implementing AI in stores in 2025.[1]
  • 14% of US and European retailers were pilot-testing AI for stores in 2025.[1]
  • 16% of US and European retailers had fully scaled AI in stores in 2025.[1]

Automation in the retail store industry

  • 21% of US and European retailers were pilot-testing robotics for stores in 2025.[1]
  • 57% of big-box retailers offered self-checkout in 2023.[3]
  • 70% of grocery, pharmacy, gas and convenience merchants offered self-checkout in 2023.[3]
  • 14% of US and European retailers had fully scaled robotics in stores in 2025.[1]
  • 3.5 self-service formats were used on average by retailers operating self-service systems in 2026.[4]
  • 78% of US consumers would be more likely to use self-checkout if stores offered an incentive in 2024.[5]

Digital Transformation in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across retail and consumer-goods companies, 70% of business functions had generative AI adopted or piloted in 2025.[6]
  • Among EU large businesses, 96% reached at least a basic level of digital intensity in 2025.[7]
  • Across EU businesses, 74% reached at least a basic level of digital intensity in 2024.[7]
  • Among EU small and medium-sized enterprises, 71% reached at least a basic level of digital intensity in 2025.[7]

Technology Adoption in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across US and European retailers, 27% had fully scaled cameras and sensors in 2025.[1]
  • Across US and European retailers, 16% had fully scaled artificial intelligence in 2025.[1]
  • Across US and European retailers, 21% had fully scaled edge computing technologies in 2025.[1]
  • Across US and European retailers, 23% had fully scaled wireless communication technologies such as RFID or Bluetooth in 2025.[1]
  • Across US and European retailers, 66% had moved beyond exploration and testing of store-intelligence technologies in 2025.[1]

Cloud Computing in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU enterprises using paid cloud services, 45.52% hosted enterprise databases in the cloud in 2025.[7]
  • Across EU enterprises, 52.74% used paid cloud-computing services in 2025.[7]
  • Across EU enterprises using paid cloud services, 71.69% used cloud-based office software in 2025.[7]
  • Across EU enterprises using paid cloud services, 71.53% used cloud-based file storage in 2025.[7]
  • Across EU enterprises using paid cloud services, 85.15% used cloud-based email in 2025.[7]

Big Data in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across retail companies, 23% were using artificial intelligence in production to resolve customer identities or prepare customer data for marketing or analytics in 2025.[8]
  • Across retail companies, 64% said their customer data was structured and accessible enough to support artificial-intelligence use cases in 2025.[8]
  • Across EU enterprises, 26.20% performed data analytics on transaction records such as sales and payment records in 2025.[7]
  • Across EU enterprises, 33.02% performed data analytics using their own employees in 2025.[7]

04 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Identity resolution, governance, and data silos remain recurring blockers; 96% of respondents cited breaking down data silos as a significant challenge in 2025.

Business intelligence in the retail store industry

  • 57% of U.S. retailers were investing in solutions addressing in-store inefficiencies in 2025.[1]
  • 64% of U.S. retailers were investing in solutions for out-of-stock problems in 2025.[1]
  • 11% is the projected compound annual growth rate for the global store-intelligence technology market from 2025 to 2029.[1]
  • 66% of surveyed retailers had begun implementing store-intelligence technologies in 2025.[1]
  • 57% of U.S. retailers were investing in shelf-digitization technologies in 2025.[1]
  • $8.4 billion was the estimated global store-intelligence technology market in 2025.[1]

Data analytics in the retail store industry

  • 41% of surveyed retailers identified data security and privacy as an analytics or BI-platform challenge in 2024.[9]
  • 42% of surveyed retailers identified aligning business goals to analytics as an analytics or BI-platform challenge in 2024.[9]
  • 98% of surveyed retailers said using data to gain actionable insights was essential for informed business decisions in 2024.[9]
  • 30% of surveyed retailers identified budget constraints as an analytics or BI-platform challenge in 2024.[9]
  • 23% of surveyed retailers identified the rate of data change as an analytics or BI-platform challenge in 2024.[9]
  • 30% of surveyed retailers identified lack of skilled personnel as an analytics or BI-platform challenge in 2024.[9]

Data Quality in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across retail and e-commerce, 66% of respondents rated their identity-resolution ability only somewhat effective in 2024.[10]
  • Across retail and e-commerce, 66% of respondents identified data-quality controls as a significant challenge in 2024.[10]
  • Across retail and e-commerce, 29% of respondents rated their customer-data collection methods not very effective in 2024.[10]
  • Across retail and e-commerce, 48% of respondents rated their customer-data collection methods only somewhat effective in 2024.[10]
  • Across retail and e-commerce, 62% of respondents rated their data-management practices only somewhat effective in 2024.[10]

Data Governance in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across retail and consumer-products companies, 53.5% of respondents said regulatory compliance was not a significant data challenge in 2025.[11]
  • Across retail and consumer-products companies, 96% of respondents said breaking down data silos was a significant challenge in 2025.[11]
  • Across retail and CPG companies, 31% of respondents cited the lack of a corporate data strategy and semantic layer as a key challenge in 2025.[9]
  • Across retail and consumer-products companies, 66% of respondents said their data-management capabilities were only somewhat unified in 2025.[11]
  • Across retail and CPG companies, 35% of respondents cited inconsistent or incorrect answers to data questions as a governance-related blocker in 2025.[9]
  • Across retail and e-commerce, 57% of respondents identified data governance as a significant challenge in 2024.[10]

KPIs in the retail store industry

  • 2.7% was the average revenue increase reported by grocery retailers without companywide analytics teams in 2024.[12]
  • $890 billion in U.S. retail merchandise was projected to be returned in 2024.[13]
  • 0.4% was the average revenue decline reported by non-grocery retailers without dedicated analytics teams in 2024.[12]
  • 3.5% was the average revenue growth reported by non-grocery retailers with companywide analytics teams in 2024.[12]
  • 5.5% of revenue was reported lost to in-store inefficiencies by surveyed U.S. retailers in 2025.[1]
  • 16.9% of U.S. retail sales were estimated to be returned in 2024.[13]

05 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Retail growth themes prioritize loyalty and omnichannel capabilities; 3.6% U.S. retail sales growth in 2024 reached $5.29 trillion.

Growth in the retail store industry

  • 44% of retail executives identified strengthening loyalty programs as a top growth opportunity for 2024.[14]
  • 3.6% was U.S. retail sales growth in 2024, reaching $5.29 trillion, according to the National Retail Federation.[13]
  • 80% of U.S. shopping still occurred in stores, while shopping-center vacancy stood at 5.4%, according to Deloitte’s 2025 retail outlook.[14]
  • 54% of retail executives identified strengthening digital-commerce offerings as a top growth opportunity for 2024.[14]
  • 36% of retail executives identified enhancing the in-store customer experience as a top growth opportunity for 2024.[14]
  • 7% to 9% is the National Retail Federation’s forecast for U.S. non-store and online sales growth in 2025.[13]

Differentiation in the retail store industry

  • 54% of retailers prioritized tailored experiences to identify and connect with customers in the 2024 Havis survey.[15]
  • 55% of U.S. shoppers preferred returning online purchases in stores rather than by mail in 2024.[16]
  • 40% of shoppers said they look for a similar item after returning an online purchase in a store.[17]
  • 75% of retail consumers expect the same experience from a brand or retailer regardless of the channel.[18]
  • 43% of consumers said they simply return an online purchase in a store and leave without additional shopping.[17]
  • 88% of surveyed retailers said shoppers loved browsing stores, compared with 69% of surveyed shoppers.[17]

Mergers and acquisitions in the retail store industry

  • $120.8 billion was the combined food and non-food retail M&A deal value in 2024.[19]
  • $62.8 billion was the value of global retail M&A deals in 2025, up 34.6% from $46.7 billion in 2024.[20]
  • $2.4 billion was the announced value of DICK’S Sporting Goods’ acquisition of Foot Locker in 2025.[20]
  • 48% of retail strategic deal value came from megadeals exceeding $5 billion in 2024.[21]
  • 146 retail strategic deals valued above $30 million were recorded in 2024, according to Bain’s global M&A analysis.[21]
  • 1,085 non-food retail M&A deals were recorded globally in 2023.[19]

Strategic partnerships in the retail store industry

  • 1,000 square feet was the typical dedicated space for an Ulta Beauty at Target shop-in-shop in 2024.[22]
  • 18 countries were served by Walmart International operations that included joint-venture and partnership arrangements as of January 31, 2024.[23]
  • 101 Ulta Beauty at Target locations opened during 2024, bringing the partnership footprint to roughly 600 stores.[24]
  • More than 55,000 independent sellers generated over $1 million in sales each through Amazon’s store in 2024.[25]
  • 23 Target stores opened in 2024 with partnerships including national brands and in-store service concepts.[26]
  • $31 billion was the value of Target’s owned-brand portfolio in 2024, alongside partnerships with Ulta Beauty, Apple, Disney and Starbucks.[26]

06 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce availability and churn show pressure points; U.S. retail trade employment declined by 47,000 jobs in 2025.

Hiring in the retail store industry

  • 116 applicants per retail hire were recorded in 2023 in the United States.[27]
  • 79 applicants per retail job were recorded in 2023 in the United States.[27]
  • 26% of retail hires came through company career pages in 2023 in the United States.[27]
  • 3.4% of retail applicants came from employee referrals in 2023 in the United States.[27]
  • 15% of retail hires came from employee referrals in 2023 in the United States.[27]

Employee retention in the retail store industry

  • 3.5% was the increase in average retail timesheet pay in 2024 across the markets covered by Deputy.[28]
  • 77% of U.S. retail workers considering quitting said they believed they had many other job opportunities in 2024.[29]
  • 17.1% was manager turnover in U.S. convenience stores during the first half of 2025.[30]
  • 60.8% was employee turnover in U.S. convenience stores during the first half of 2025.[30]
  • 37% of U.S. retail workers said they were considering quitting in 2023.[29]

Remote Work in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. retail trade, employees worked from home for 14.02% of full paid working days in 2025.[31]
  • Across U.S. retail trade, employees worked from home for 14.03% of full paid working days in 2023.[31]
  • Across U.S. retail trade, employees worked from home for 14.09% of full paid working days in 2026.[31]
  • Across U.S. retail trade, employees worked from home for 13.46% of full paid working days in 2024.[31]
  • Across U.S. retail trade, employees worked from home for 15.14% of full paid working days in 2022.[31]

Hybrid Work in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.K. employers, 23% used informal manager-employee arrangements for hybrid work in 2025.[32]
  • Across U.K. employers, 65% required hybrid employees to attend the workplace a minimum number of days in 2025.[32]
  • Across U.K. employers, 42% had a formal hybrid-working policy in 2025.[32]
  • Across retail organizations globally, 42% used mandated office days as their hybrid-work model in 2025.[33]
  • Across U.K. employers, 74% had hybrid working in place in 2025.[32]

Upskilling in the retail store industry

  • 300,000 U.S. Walmart associates received training through Walmart Academy in fiscal 2024.[34]
  • 44% of UK retail workers said they were not confident handling sensitive customer data or did not know how to process it correctly in 2025.[35]
  • 68% of organizations use job shadowing for frontline employee training, according to 2024 research covering retail and other frontline sectors.[36]
  • 95% of organizations use on-the-job training to build frontline employees’ technical and hard skills, including retail clerks, according to 2024 research.[36]
  • 68% of organizations use employee knowledge sharing for frontline employee training, according to 2024 research covering retail and other frontline sectors.[36]

Employee Engagement in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. retail workers, 24% reported one or more symptoms of burnout in Seramount’s spring 2025 survey.[37]
  • Across retail employees, 84% would recommend their company as a great place to work in Culture Amp’s 2024 dataset.[37]
  • Across U.S. retail workers, 35% rated their personal well-being above average in Seramount’s spring 2025 survey.[37]
  • Across retail employees in Culture Amp’s 2024 dataset, 70% were engaged in 2025 reporting.[37]
  • Across U.S. retail workers, 24% were promoters of their organizations in Seramount’s spring 2025 survey.[37]

07 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer experience in the retail store industry

  • 86 points was the 2026 U.S. specialty-retail score for pickup-order accuracy.[38]
  • 85 points was the 2026 U.S. general-merchandise retail score for mobile-app reliability.[38]
  • 57 million in-store customer-feedback responses informed HappyOrNot’s global retail experience analysis for 2024.[39]
  • 58% of U.S. retail consumers used an online retailer’s mobile app as part of their shopping experience in 2026.[38]
  • 83 points was the 2026 U.S. overall score for Sam’s Club in general merchandise retail.[38]

Customer retention in the retail store industry

  • 17% was the upper end of repeat-purchase rates reported for fashion direct-to-consumer brands.[40]
  • 18.8% was the average repeat-purchase rate among more than 156,000 direct-to-consumer retail customers.[40]
  • 95% was the increase in the likelihood that a retail customer would make a third purchase after buying twice.[41]
  • 18% was the upper end of repeat-purchase rates reported for durable and home-goods direct-to-consumer brands.[40]
  • 38% was the average ecommerce customer-retention rate cited by Sprinklr in a 2024 study.[40]

Customer acquisition in the retail store industry

  • 1.5% of apparel buyers had been recently identified before purchasing on Black Friday 2024.[41]
  • 70 new loyalty members per month was the acquisition rate for leading full-service operators in 2024.[42]
  • 78% of retail department heads, directors and executives selected customer acquisition as a top-three priority for 2024.[43]
  • 110 new loyalty members per store per month was the acquisition rate for leading quick-service operators in 2024.[42]
  • 68% of retail managers, executives and specialists selected customer acquisition as a top-three priority for 2024.[43]

Customer loyalty in the retail store industry

  • 20% of consumers shopped with brands offering points or loyalty rewards in 2024.[44]
  • 57% of consumers were more likely to shop with retailers offering personalized loyalty rewards in 2024.[44]
  • 39.5% of surveyed U.S. consumers reported spending more with a retailer after joining its loyalty program in 2024.[45]
  • 28% of consumers cited a great customer experience as a reason to remain loyal to retailers in 2025.[40]
  • 41% of consumers cited free shipping or returns as a reason to remain loyal to retailers in 2025.[40]

Lead generation in the retail store industry

  • 36% was the average apparel-retailer shopper-identification rate on Black Friday 2024.[41]
  • 79% of Black Friday 2024 retail site traffic came from mobile devices.[41]
  • 251 million shopper events were analyzed in Bluecore’s Black Friday 2024 retail dataset.[41]
  • 3.7 million retail orders were analyzed in Bluecore’s Black Friday 2024 benchmark study.[41]
  • 29% was the overall average shopper-identification rate on Black Friday 2024 across 146 retail brands.[41]

08 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Omnichannel marketing is common in retail; 58% of global retailers in the 2025 Omnichannel Retail Index used email and SMS marketing.

Marketing in the retail store industry

  • 58% of global retailers in the 2025 Omnichannel Retail Index used email and SMS marketing.[46]
  • 72% of retail marketing leaders ranked customer acquisition among their top three organisational priorities in 2024.[43]
  • 30% of retail marketing leaders ranked leveraging a customer data platform among their top three priorities in 2024.[43]
  • 30% of retail marketing leaders ranked developing new target markets among their top three priorities in 2024.[43]
  • 25% of retail marketing leaders ranked decreasing cart abandonment among their top three priorities in 2024.[43]

Digital marketing in the retail store industry

  • 30.6% of US shoppers said social media was where they first saw or heard about a product they bought in 2024.[47]
  • 81.3% of surveyed retail businesses had a website in a 2026 study of retailers’ digital visibility.[35]
  • 78.3% of retail chains in Digital Commerce 360’s North American Top 1000 offered buy online, pick up in store in 2023.[48]
  • 77.2% of retail chains in Digital Commerce 360’s North American Top 1000 offered buy online, pick up in store in 2024.[48]
  • 25.2% of US shoppers said a search engine was where they first saw or heard about a product they bought in 2024.[47]

Branding in the retail store industry

  • $1.8 billion was ICA’s retail brand value in 2025.[49]
  • $11.7 billion was Meituan’s retail brand value in 2025, up 37% year on year.[49]
  • 90.5 out of 100 was Meituan’s Brand Strength Index score in 2025.[49]
  • $1.3 trillion was the combined brand value of the world’s 100 most valuable retail brands in 2025.[49]
  • 92.3 out of 100 was JD.com’s Brand Strength Index score in 2025.[49]

Social media in the retail store industry

  • 34% of US consumers said they would be more loyal to retailers that let them buy products after viewing them on social media in 2024.[50]
  • 20% of Millennial US social-commerce shoppers were first-time buyers in 2023.[50]
  • 90% of surveyed media agencies expected client spending on social media to increase in 2025, according to Modern Retail’s 2024 research.[51]
  • 3 times per month was the average frequency with which US consumers shopped on social media in 2023.[50]
  • 67% of US consumers who shopped on social media in 2023 were repeat or existing buyers rather than first-time buyers.[50]

Influencer Marketing in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • 80% of brands investing in creator marketing increased creator budgets in 2026, while 25% raised creator spending by more than 10%.[52]
  • 58% of brands integrated retail media networks and creator marketing platforms by amplifying creator-generated content on retail media channels in 2025.[52]
  • 78% of surveyed brands reported growing creator-marketing budgets in 2025, up from 36% reporting budget growth in 2024.[52]
  • 49% of brands investing in creator marketing reported sales as an impact of creator activity in 2026, compared with 60% citing brand sentiment and 58% citing awareness.[52]
  • 91% of brands investing in creator marketing ran an always-on component in 2026, including 62% with hybrid programs and 29% with fully continuous programs.[52]

09 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Inventory visibility and pricing accuracy are execution-critical; 80% of retail leaders reported mispricing rates of at least 5% in 2025.

Process optimization in the retail store industry

  • 60% of US retailers currently investing in store intelligence were investing in promotion and price planning or optimization in 2024.[53]
  • 66% of surveyed US retailers had begun implementing store-intelligence technologies in 2025, while 20% had fully scaled them.[1]
  • 63% of surveyed US retailers expressed strong interest in in-store technology that automates inventory tracking in 2024.[53]
  • 35% of surveyed US retailers planned to invest at least $500,000 in store-intelligence technologies over the following 12 months in 2025.[1]
  • 56% of surveyed US retailers expressed strong interest in technology that optimizes promotion and pricing in 2024.[53]

Operational efficiency in the retail store industry

  • 47% of independent US grocers offered self-checkout in fiscal 2024.[54]
  • 1.0% was the productivity increase in US gasoline stations in 2024.[55]
  • 40.7% was part-time associate turnover among independent US grocers in fiscal 2024.[54]
  • 10.5% was the productivity increase in US electronics and appliance stores in 2024.[55]
  • 7.6% was the productivity increase in US clothing stores in 2024.[55]

Quality management in the retail store industry

  • Nearly 4,100 in-depth investigations were conducted by the US CPSC in fiscal 2024.[56]
  • 76% of consumers considered free returns a key factor in deciding where to shop in 2024.[13]
  • 73% of senior-level quality professionals reported experiencing a product recall during the previous five years in a 2024 survey.[57]
  • $890 billion in US retail merchandise was projected to be returned in 2024.[13]
  • More than 58,000 products were removed from e-commerce platforms after US CPSC enforcement actions in fiscal 2024.[56]

Supply chain in the retail store industry

  • 3.5% was the shrink rate among independent US grocers in fiscal 2024.[54]
  • 11.2% of retail leaders said they lacked sufficient inventory visibility before the 2024 holiday season.[58]
  • 80% of surveyed US retailers reported mispricing rates of at least 5% in 2025, an indicator of store-level execution and inventory-control problems.[1]
  • 34% of retail store operators ranked buy-online-pickup-in-store operations among their top five operational challenges in 2024.[59]
  • 75% of total retail-loss dollars occurred in supply chain, returns, e-commerce fulfillment and administrative processes in IHL Group’s 2026 global study.[60]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the retail and e-commerce sector (sector benchmark)

  • 74% of retailers surveyed sourced internationally, including 71% of small companies and 84% of larger companies, in 2024.[61]
  • 57% of retail organizations with $50 million–$100 million in revenue outsourced some or all fulfillment in 2025.[62]
  • 76% of retail organizations with $150 million–$200 million in revenue outsourced some or all fulfillment in 2025.[62]
  • 72% of retail organizations with $100 million–$150 million in revenue outsourced some or all fulfillment in 2025.[62]
  • Among U.S. apparel imports, China’s share fell from 30% in 2019 to 21% in 2023, while other Asian suppliers’ share rose from 30% to 35%.[63]

10 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

In-store inefficiencies appear tied to margin pressure; 80% of U.S. retail decision-makers reported losing at least 5% of operating margin to in-store inefficiencies in 2025.

Pricing strategy in the retail store industry

  • 40 basis points was Walmart’s fiscal 2025 increase in gross-profit rate, partly driven by price management aligned with competitive price gaps.[23]
  • 12 times per day is the maximum reported repricing frequency for some top-selling retail items.[63]
  • 27.9% was Target’s gross-margin rate in 2025, down from 28.2% in 2024 partly because of merchandising activities and higher markdown rates.[23]
  • 980 retail decision-makers participated in IDC’s 2024 global survey of retail promotions priorities.[64]
  • 5% to 10% increase in gross profit was reported for retailers adopting AI-powered pricing solutions.[65]

Cost reduction in the retail store industry

  • 80% of U.S. retail decision-makers reported losing at least 5% of operating margin to in-store inefficiencies in 2025.[1]
  • 62% of fuel and convenience retail leaders said using data to cut waste or shrink was their most effective cost-reduction action in the prior year.[66]
  • 6.0% was Kohl’s 2025 gross-margin rate increase from the prior year, measured in basis points as reported by the company.[23]
  • 44 basis points was Kroger’s 2025 increase in FIFO gross-margin rate, helped by lower shrink and lower supply-chain costs.[67]
  • 2% was Dillard’s year-over-year inventory increase at January 31, 2026.[23]

Profitability in the retail store industry

  • 37.5% was Kohl’s gross-margin rate in 2025.[23]
  • 40.8% was Dillard’s retail gross-margin rate in fiscal 2025.[23]
  • $1.9 billion was Kroger’s 2025 operating profit, including previously announced impairment and related charges.[67]
  • $20.157 billion was Walmart’s fiscal 2025 consolidated net income.[23]
  • 4.2% was Walmart’s fiscal 2024 operating-income margin.[23]

Financial planning in the retail store industry

  • Approximately $222 million of TJX’s expected fiscal 2027 capital expenditures was planned for new stores.[23]
  • $185 million of TJX’s fiscal 2026 capital expenditures went to new stores.[23]
  • $6.9 billion was TJX’s net cash provided by operating activities in fiscal 2026.[23]
  • $1.957 billion was TJX’s fiscal 2026 capital expenditure total.[23]
  • $1.1 billion was Dillard’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at fiscal 2025 year-end.[23]

11 Statistics

Product & Service

Returns and private label economics inform merchandising; $890 billion of U.S. retail merchandise was expected to be returned in 2024.

Product development in the retail store industry

  • 11.7% of private-label value is attributed to innovation, compared with 8.1% for branded products in 2026.[68]
  • 85% of North American grocery consumers say private-label products match or exceed national brands in quality in 2026.[63]
  • 20% of North American grocers say scale and aggregation improve private-label economics greatly in 2026.[63]
  • 92% of North American grocers expect private-label profitability to increase over the next two to three years in 2026.[63]
  • Nearly one-third of North American grocery consumers expect to increase private-label purchases in 2026.[63]

Product lifecycle in the retail store industry

  • 14.5% of U.S. retail sales were returned in 2023.[50]
  • 16.5% of U.S. retail sales were returned in 2022.[50]
  • 8.1% of U.S. retail sales were returned in 2019.[50]
  • $890 billion of U.S. retail merchandise is expected to be returned in 2024.[13]
  • 16.6% of U.S. retail sales were returned in 2021.[50]

After-sales in the retail store industry

  • 34% of U.S. retailers planned to hire seasonal staff specifically to handle returns in 2024.[13]
  • 52% of U.S. shoppers would be more selective about purchases if a retailer charged a return fee in 2023.[69]
  • 42% of U.S. online shoppers prefer returning purchases in a store in 2026.[70]
  • 67% of U.S. consumers say a negative return experience would discourage them from shopping with a retailer again in 2024.[13]
  • 38% of U.S. shoppers would not shop at a retailer that charged a return fee in 2023.[69]

Value proposition in the retail store industry

  • 63% of U.S. consumers ranked everyday-low prices among their top three meanings of value for money in 2024.[71]
  • 24% of U.S. retail customers chose a retailer because it had the most convenient location in 2024.[72]
  • 35% of U.S. retail customers chose a retailer because it offered the best value for money in 2024.[72]
  • 47% of U.S. consumers ranked product longevity among their top three meanings of value for money in 2024.[71]
  • 19% of U.S. retail customers chose a retailer because it offered a loyalty, rewards or subscription program in 2024.[72]

12 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Operational impact and packaging targets show up alongside store strategies; U.S. retail food waste to landfill totaled 1.39 million tons in 2024.

Sustainability in the retail store industry

  • 51.6% of U.S. retail food waste went to landfill in 2024, totaling 1.39 million tons.[73]
  • 48.5% of Walmart’s global electricity needs came from renewable sources in 2024.[74]
  • 26 markets offered H&M Group second-hand options in 2024.[75]
  • 54% was H&M Group’s reduction in plastic packaging against its 2018 baseline in 2024.[75]
  • 89% of H&M Group’s commercial-product materials were recycled or sustainably sourced in 2024.[75]

ESG in the retail store industry

  • $282 million was Walmart’s global cash giving in fiscal 2025.[74]
  • 33% of L’Oréal’s supplier audits in 2024 were follow-up audits.[76]
  • 41% was H&M Group’s reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse-gas emissions against its 2019 baseline in 2024.[75]
  • 24% was H&M Group’s reduction in Scope 3 greenhouse-gas emissions against its 2019 baseline in 2024.[75]
  • $111 million was raised from Walmart U.S. customers for charitable organizations in fiscal 2025.[74]

Ethics in the retail store industry

  • 46.6% of Amazon’s 2024 supplier audits were maintenance audits.[77]
  • 17.0% of Amazon’s 2024 supplier audits identified medium-level wages-and-benefits findings.[77]
  • 13.5% of Amazon’s 2024 supplier audits were verification audits.[77]
  • 20% of retail companies took action on identified human-rights risks in 2024.[78]
  • 23% of retail companies identified human-rights risks in their own operations or supply chains in 2024.[78]

CSR in the retail store industry

  • $284 million was Walmart’s global cash giving in fiscal 2023.[74]
  • $46.9 million was Walmart’s U.S. and Canada Local Facility Grant giving in fiscal 2024.[74]
  • 12,700 U.S. Walmart associates participated in Spark Good volunteerism in fiscal 2024.[74]
  • $2.0 billion was Walmart’s global cash and in-kind community giving in fiscal 2025.[74]
  • $92.6 million was raised from Walmart U.S. customers for charitable organizations in fiscal 2023.[74]

Circular economy in the retail store industry

  • 15% of Target owned-brand packaging plastic was post-consumer recycled content in fiscal 2023.[26]
  • 32% of Target owned-brand packaging was recyclable, compostable or reusable in fiscal 2023.[26]
  • 16,416 metric tonnes of recycled polyester were used in Target home and hardlines products in fiscal 2023.[26]
  • 6.9 million pounds of material were recycled annually through Target’s car-seat recycling program in fiscal 2023.[26]
  • 85% of Target operational waste was diverted from landfill in fiscal 2023.[26]

Carbon footprint in the retail store industry

  • 7,755 million metric tons was the retail sector’s estimated total attributable carbon footprint in the cited analysis.[63]
  • 2,210 million metric tons represented industry-related emissions in retail’s value-chain footprint.[63]
  • 98% of retail’s attributable emissions came from value-chain Scope 3 emissions in 2024.[63]
  • 1,830 million metric tons represented agriculture-and-forestry emissions in retail’s value-chain footprint.[63]
  • 9.03 million metric tons were Walmart’s Scope 1 emissions in calendar 2024.[74]

14 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Cross-border store footprints are large and quantifiable; Inditex reported operating 4,575 international stores in 45 countries in 2023.

Globalization in the retail store industry

  • $23.20 billion in international revenue was generated by AS Watson, which operated 15,459 international stores in 24 countries in 2023.[13]
  • $10.68 billion in international revenue was generated by Apple, which operated 253 international stores in 25 countries in 2023.[13]
  • $11.80 billion in international revenue was generated by Auchan, which operated 1,039 international stores in eight countries in 2023.[13]
  • $12.66 billion in international revenue was generated by Walgreens Boots Alliance, which operated 4,360 international stores in 13 countries in 2023.[13]
  • $24.15 billion in international revenue was generated by Inditex, which operated 4,575 international stores in 45 countries in 2023.[13]

Cultural adaptation in the retail store industry

  • 2,013 U.S. adults participated in a June 2024 survey about clothing-retailer preferences conducted for SHEIN.[89]
  • 79% of surveyed U.S. consumers identified price as a consideration when selecting a clothing retailer in 2024.[89]
  • 58% of surveyed U.S. consumers identified variety of styles as a consideration when selecting a clothing retailer in 2024.[89]
  • 79% of surveyed U.S. consumers identified product quality as a consideration when selecting a clothing retailer in 2024.[89]

Supplier management in the retail store industry

  • More than 3,300 factories in almost 30 countries were audited or had audit reports reviewed by TJX in fiscal 2025.[34]
  • $13 billion in goods and services were sourced from diverse suppliers by Walmart’s U.S. businesses in fiscal 2024.[90]
  • 388 independent Tier 1 supplier facilities operated across 39 countries for adidas in 2024.[91]
  • 85% of adidas’s direct and licensee facilities were audited in 2024.[91]
  • 67% of adidas’s independent Tier 1 supplier facilities were located in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024.[91]

Stakeholder management in the retail store industry

  • Nine retail subcategories were covered in AlixPartners’ 2024 U.S. consumer-sentiment survey.[92]
  • 98% of Costco shares voted against a shareholder proposal requesting a report on the company’s diversity policies in 2025.[90]
  • More than 9,000 U.S. consumers participated in AlixPartners’ 2024 retail consumer-sentiment survey.[92]

Distribution channels in the retail store industry

  • $267.827 million in wholesale sales were reported by the company in fiscal 2025.[23]
  • 52.0% of Crocs consolidated revenue came through its wholesale channel in 2023.[23]
  • Approximately 50,000 retail locations in approximately 120 countries sold Levi Strauss products as of December 1, 2024.[23]
  • 50.3% of Crocs consolidated revenue came through its wholesale channel in 2024.[23]
  • $583.054 million in retail-channel sales were reported by the company in fiscal 2025.[23]

Key questions about the retail store industry

What is the size of the U.S. retail-store market in 2026?
The National Retail Federation forecasts $5.6 trillion in U.S. retail sales for 2026.
How fast is U.S. retail sales expected to grow in 2026?
The NRF forecasts 4.4% growth in U.S. retail sales in 2026 compared with 2025.
Which companies lead the retail store industry?
Schwarz Group leads Gitnux's 2026 retail store ranking with an Overall score of 9.3, with €176.9 billion in fiscal 2025 Lidl and Kaufland store revenue. Fast Retailing is the highest-ranked apparel retailer at 9.0, driven by ¥3.963 trillion in FY2026 revenue.
What technology shifts are appearing across retail stores?
Retailers report in-store AI scaling and store-intelligence implementation in 2025, with 66% of surveyed retailers beginning store-intelligence technologies.
How is the market structured for reporting and coverage?
The 2022 Economic Census records $6.975 trillion in U.S. retail-trade sales across 644,146 firms and 1,040,277 establishments.
How much do returns and online migration matter for retail operations?
E-commerce was $1.234 trillion in 2025, and U.S. merchandise returns were projected at $890 billion in 2024.
Reference

Cite This Report

This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.

APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Retail Store Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/retail-store-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Retail Store Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/retail-store-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Retail Store Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/retail-store-industry-statistics.

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