Despite the seismic changes that rocked retail in 2025 — from tariffs to the disruptions caused by AI — there were only subtle shifts in the rankings of 2025’s Top 50 Retailers from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Kantar.
For the second year in a row, Walmart and Amazon claimed the top two spots, followed by Schwarz Group (which includes the Lidl and Kaufland banners), Aldi, Costco, Ahold Delhaize and Carrefour. Ikea and The Home Depot each moved up a spot, to eighth and ninth places respectively, with Walgreens rounding out the top 10.
Seven & I, the Japan-based parent company of 7-Eleven, dropped from seventh to eleventh place. The retailer’s lower ranking is likely due to the failed merger with Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard, which fell apart in July 2025 after many months of negotiations (and accusations) between the two companies. (Couche-Tard was ranked number 29 on the list).
“The list reflects a year that started quietly but quickly grew more challenging due to U.S. policy shifts and rapidly changing tariffs on almost all goods,” said David Marcotte, SVP of Global Insights and Technology at Kantar in a statement. “Volatility in key commodity costs, product availability and trade patterns forced global manufacturers and retailers to make quick strategic pivots.”
In Grocery, Smaller Stores and an Emphasis on Value Win
Marcotte also commented on some of themes the results revealed in a blog post: “In terms of channel performance, small discount grocery performed better globally than large hypermarts. Carrefour expanded its smaller discount grocery banner in most markets, and Walmart continued to open smaller formats outside the U.S. and Canada. In addition, Aldi and Schwarz Group sustained their global growth thanks to their smaller discount grocery stores.
“Exceptions to this trend were lifestyle-focused retailers in the club and home improvement channels, which continued to thrive in middle-class markets,” Marcotte added. “Key examples were Costco, Ikea and The Home Depot, all of which ranked in the top 10.”
Marcotte also noted the striking number of large retail companies that changed their top leadership in 2025, with John Furner succeeding long-time Walmart CEO Doug McMillon in February 2026 and Michael Fiddelke taking on the CEO role at Target in August 2025 after Brian Cornell announced his retirement. Also in August, Sycamore Partners completed its acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance and selected former Staples CEO Mike Motz to lead Walgreens as a private, standalone company.
Kantar’s ranking methodology uses a system that awards points to retailers based on their domestic and international retail revenues. To qualify for the ranking, retailers need a direct investment in at least three countries. In alignment with Kantar’s Retail IQ methodology, only retail-specific revenues determined ranking points even as the largest global retailers expand outside of traditional retail arenas. For example, revenue from a retail media network (e.g., Amazon Web Services) would not be considered retail-specific revenue. This approach allows retail operations to be clearly compared across different business models.
