The Top 30 Global Retailers Revealed in Internationalisation Retail Index

As globalisation and cross-border expansion in retail becomes increasingly prominent features in the digital age, businesses are adapting their strategies to take advantage of international opportunities.

While it’s unsurprising to see retail royalty Amazon featured in the top 30, there are a refreshing number of challenger brands hot on its heels. Boohoo, Topshop and Zalando appear high up the rankings – particularly surprising when compared with the placing of colossal retailers from the US such as Walmart and Walgreens Boots Alliance, as well as the UK’s biggest retailer, Tesco.

In the index, one of the main principles the ranking is based on is how retailers serve their international customers outside their home country. Do they offer a website in different languages and can customers simply select their currency? But it’s also important how retailers communicate with customers and if they identify special needs in different regions. How interactive are these retailers acting with their customers, i. e. do they offer apps or mobile optimised websites? Do they offer a multichannel platform? How do they support customers during the order process, i. e. completing their address automatically?

Besides the surprising names already mentioned above, in Europe the top online retailer are for example asos, a fashion retailer with headquarter in the UK. Zooplus, trading with pet food and everything around pets with headquarter in Germany. Sephora, a French retailer for cosmetics. And HelloFresh, a subscription based food delivery service for self-cooking from Germany.

Steffen Preuschoff, VP Sales Europe at Loqate, a GBG solution commented: “HelloFresh is one of the most impressive brands in the index. The company was found in 2011 and delivered in 2017 goods and services to three different continents. To grow to an international company, competing against Amazons food delivery service, has only been possible through ongoing investments in Marketing, Logistics and HR. A seamless customer experience and regional specifications give HelloFresh this great success. Today, HelloFresh has over 2,000 employees worldwide and over 900 Million revenue turnaround in 2017. Although the Retail Index from Loqate is not based on revenue and size of the business, this numbers make clear how well HelloFresh serves customers and how good they understand customer needs – always keeping in mind the business is only 7 years old and already part of the stock market.”

All businesses in the Retail Index are great examples for international expansion and cross border delivery. In times where national eCommerce in Western European countries is nearly covered, international markets are perfect for continuous growth. Customers love variety and are more opened than ever for international retailers. In the European Ecommerce Report 2017 from the Ecommerce Foundation it says that in 2016 only 18% of all companies in Europe sold their goods and services online, whereas over 70% had a website. 33% of all Europeans bought abroad in 2016. And more than 25% of purchases in Europe are cross border purchases, with most cross border purchases in Luxembourg (74%), Russia (62%) and Switzerland (61%).

If you’re interested in speaking to someone from Loqate about how retailers can successfully expand internationally, how retailers can tailor their location services to different markets or how they compete with the top retailers, please contact christiane.pidde@gbgplc.com for more information. The full index is available on http://loqate.com/retail-index.