Digital-first players 'reshaping expectations among consumers'

A wave of digitally-savvy, internationally-minded upstarts are powering growth in the retail sector, according to Loqate’s latest International Retail Index.

This benchmarks the 30 top performers by brand recognition, global presence, online capabilities, and volume of sales. Four of the top six are pureplays (Amazon, Asos, Boohoo.com and Zalando).

While the index focuses on retailers in the UK, US and Europe, it cites China’s Alibaba as another strong performer. Indeed, it would knock Amazon off the top spot, if benchmarked with the same criteria. The study also found that, despite challenging geopolitical conditions, two of the top 30 companies (H&M and Ikea) now bring in at least 90% of their sales from outside their home market.

“Digital, borderless, on-demand experience is becoming the new normal in retail. While Amazon has retained its crown, what we see is an emerging group of digital-first and even digital-only players reshaping expectations among consumers,” says Matthew Furneaux, Global Commercial Director at Loqate.

“It’s also remarkable to see leading retailers such as Ikea find huge success outside their home market – with 90% of sales coming outside of Sweden. Perhaps there are lessons here for British retailers, as they look to future-proof their businesses in the wake of geopolitical uncertainty.”