Download the 10th edition of the RetailX UK Top500 ranking of the leading 500 retailers, brands and marketplaces that sell in the UK today.
Throughout the pages of this report, we map out how, for many retailers, the balance of retailing over the last ten years of our UK Top500 analysis has changed. Some have moved from store-first to digital-first while others have moved from pureplay to multichannel retailing. We’ve also seen brands and marketplaces grow their positions in the market, the former now accounting for half of the Top500 by number, the latter for more than half of traffic to the Top500. This report charts performance that has improved so strongly over a decade, it’s raised the bar for all those who sell, or plan on selling, in this market.
Economic Context
High costs of living and low growth continue to be the hallmarks of the UK economy in 2024. The RetailX UK Top500 2024 report arrives as relatively high interest rates may now have peaked, but continue to affect how much shoppers are spending. A decline in retail sales has helped tip the economy into a technical recession in the second half of 2023. Since the first green shoots of recovery seem to be appearing in 2024 as retail sales show signs of recovery, a number of forecasters are suggesting that this year will see economic improvement as inflation subsides and interest rates are cut.
Inside the Report
Download the report today for the latest ranking of the best retailers in the UK as well as:
- A strategic overview of the UK retail sector
- An interview with Sue Harries of Elite retailer Screwfix
- The RetailX UK Top500 2024: Ranking the best 500 retailers in the UK
- Analysing the UK Top500, why are these retailers so good
- Measuring performance:
- The Customer Value Chain
- The Product Value Chain
- The Operations Value Chain
- The Capital Value Chain
- Company profile: Amazon, Ikea, Next, Asda, Dunelm, Boden, Richer Sounds & Very
History of the Top500
The 2024 RetailX UK Top500, which both marks a decade of research and is also our tenth report in this series. In 2014, we published the first UK Top500 Footprint report, naming the 500 largest retailers selling online and across sales channels to UK shoppers. We ranked those retailers by performance in a report published in early 2015 and have continued to do the same ever since.
Over the years, our research has become increasingly detailed and is now able to map changes in how shoppers want to buy, as well as how retail businesses sell over the longer term.
Today, our research team measures performance according to how retailers, brands and marketplaces add value to their businesses through the Customer, Product, Operations and Capital Value Chains. The long-term changes that we’ve mapped include the shift towards buying online, which peaked during the Covid-19 pandemic and remains higher than before; the shift towards buying across channels; and the shift from a Top500 index dominated by retailers to one in which marketplaces and brands are ever-more important.
