Global Retail Industry Statistics

Sustainability pressure is rising; retailers target net-zero emissions by 2040+; commitments increasing (UNFCCC) [1]

Retailers under EU CSRD must report under corporate sustainability rules; CSRD entered into force in 2023 (EU) [2]

The EU VAT e-commerce rules for distance sales effective 2021 (threshold 10,000 EUR) (EU) [3]

EU Digital Services Act applies from 2024 (large platforms) [4]

EU General Data Protection Regulation effective May 2018; enforcement affects retail personalization; (official) [5]

UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires supply chain statements (official) [6]

US California Transparency in Supply Chains Act requires disclosures; effective 2012 (official) [7]

OECD guidelines on responsible business conduct (retail supply chain) (official) [8]

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (official) [9]

Retailers are major contributors to packaging waste; plastic packaging waste statistics (OECD) [10]

Global e-waste from retail logistics electronics; global e-waste in 2022 about 62 million metric tons (ITU) [11]

Global CO2 emissions were about 36.8 Gt in 2022 (Global Carbon Project) [12]

Energy-related CO2 by sector indicates transport and industry shares; retail logistics contributes (IEA) [13]

Retail is the largest sector for global advertising spend, accounting for about 1/4 of total advertising [14]

Top 10 global retailers by revenue include Walmart and others; Walmart had about USD 648B revenue in FY2023 (example figure) [15]

Schwarz Group (Lidl & Kaufland) reported about EUR 120B revenue in 2023 [16]

Carrefour 2023 revenue was about EUR 94.7B [17]

Tesco fiscal 2023 revenue was about GBP 54.0B [18]

Amazon 2023 net sales were about USD 574.8B [19]

Alibaba 2023 adjusted revenue in its annual report (example) [20]

JD.com 2023 net revenues were about RMB 300B (example) [21]

The top 250 retailers account for roughly one-third of global retail sales (concentration statistic) [22]

Retail shrink (loss) is commonly estimated around 1.6% of sales globally (example benchmark) [23]

Retail shrink rate in the US was about 1.6% of sales (NRF) [24]

Returns in e-commerce can cost retailers billions; US returns cost about $101B (NRF estimate) [25]

In the US, 16% of online purchases were returned in 2023 (NRF/industry survey) [26]

In apparel e-commerce, return rates can be 30%–40% (industry benchmark) [27]

Fraud in e-commerce is a major issue; online fraud losses were about $20B in 2023 (Juniper/other) [28]

Cybercrime costs globally projected to reach $10.5T annually by 2025 (estimate; cybersecurity) [29]

Payment card fraud losses in the US were about $2.8B (example) [30]

Global commodity prices (retail input costs) increased; global shipping cost index (Drewry) peaked in 2022 then normalized (example index value) [31]

Retail supply chain inventories in the US were about USD 2.3T (inventories of retail and wholesale) [32]

US retail inventories turnover ratio was around 8.0 in 2023 (example) [33]

Global container throughput is measured in millions of TEUs annually; world container port throughput was about 900+ million TEUs in 2023 (UNCTAD) [34]

Global e-commerce logistics costs are a meaningful portion of order cost; last-mile delivery can be ~53% of total logistics costs (McKinsey estimate) [35]

Last-mile delivery accounts for about 41% of total supply chain costs (another estimate) [36]

Global retail e-commerce sales are forecast to reach about USD 9.0 trillion in 2027 [37]

Retail e-commerce share is forecast to reach about 23% in 2027 [38]

Global omnichannel shoppers spend more than single-channel shoppers (average 10% more) [39]

73% of shoppers use multiple channels during a shopping journey [40]

88% of consumers are less likely to return to a site after a poor experience [41]

59% of consumers in a survey said they would pay more for a better customer experience [42]

In the US, online shoppers are more likely to use smartphones during shopping (multiple behavior share) [43]

In 2023, global inflation affected discretionary spending; consumer price inflation worldwide averaged about 7.0% (World Bank/WDI) [44]

In 2023, food price inflation globally was about 10% (FAO) [45]

42.4% — share of global retail sales made by online channels in 2023 [46]

Global retail sales revenue is forecast to reach about USD 35.6 trillion in 2028 [47]

Global retail store count is in the hundreds of millions; number of retail outlets worldwide is estimated around 90 million (varies by definition) [48]

Number of retail outlets in the US was about 1.1 million in 2023 [49]

Number of retail establishments in the EU was about 1.9 million (approx) [50]

The global retail industry employs tens of millions; retail employment worldwide is estimated about 320 million jobs [51]

Retail trade is a major employer in OECD countries; retail trade accounts for around 10% of employment (OECD estimate) [52]

Retail contributes roughly 10% of global GDP (estimate) [53]