COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the global retail industry, with thousands of stores, supermarkets, and shopping malls closed amid the lockdowns. Some retailers may have coped with this new situation better than others, but it has undoubtedly caused a financial shock across the sector. Nevertheless, the retail market still counts the largest number of companies globally.
According to data presented by StockApps, one-fifth of all companies globally operate in retail.
2020 was probably one of the most challenging years for the companies working in the retail sector. With shops closed and social distancing rules in place, consumers across the globe were forced to change their purchase priorities drastically.
Many of them cut down their shopping budgets, while some even decided not to go to stores at all. However, the most significant change was the global shift towards eCommerce, as millions of people decided to ditch their shopping carts for online orders and take advantage of cashless payments and digital accounts. Although retail companies had major challenges to deal with, their total number remained huge.
According to Statista data, a total of 213.6 million companies were operating worldwide last year, 560,000 less than in 2019. Retail and trade companies accounted for 28.2 per cent of that number, with more than 60 million of them doing business in 2020.
Construction ranked as the second-largest sector, with 25.1 million companies globally, or around 12 per cent of the total number.
Metals and electronics, finance and insurance, and consumer goods followed, with 18.3 million, 16.1 million, and 13.5 million companies, respectively. Also, statistics revealed that the retail sector had more registered companies than the construction, electronics, and finance industry combined.
Global Retail Industry to Hit US $29.4T Value by 2025
The pandemic-fuelled rush towards digitalisation and a global shift to eCommerce and webshops enabled many retailers to do business on a global scale. However, most revenues still come from the ten largest players, led by Amazon, Alibaba, and Walmart.
According to Research and Markets data, the global retail market hit US $20.3trn value in 2020, growing by a CARG of 2.4 per cent since 2015. Most of the revenues, or nearly 20 per cent, came from the motor vehicle and parts dealers’ segment. However, eCommerce is expected to see the fastest growth, rising by a CAGR of 13.8 per cent by 2025.
Analysed by geography, Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the global retail market, accounting for 34.7 per cent of the total in 2020, and followed by North America and Western Europe. Still, statistics show South America and the Middle East are expected to be the fastest-growing regions in the next four years, growing by CAGRs of 12.4 per cent and 10.4 per cent, respectively.
By 2025, the global retail industry is forecast to continue growing by CARG of 7.7 per cent and hit US$29.4trn value.
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