Walmart Again Named Top Retailer Among Trading Partners
For the 28th consecutive year, Walmart has been named the top retailer in Kantar’s annual industry benchmarking report. The Kantar PoweRanking identifies retailers and manufacturers/suppliers that set the standard of performance, ranked by their trading partners.
According to Kantar, Walmart remained in the top spot because of its continued ability to grow and scale despite economic turmoil, as well as its focus on strengthening its relationship with shoppers.
The top five retailers on this year’s PoweRanking list remained the same as last year, though a few changes were noted. Target and Kroger switched places to number two and number three, respectively. For their parts, manufacturers credit Target’s shopper experience and Kroger’s use of data analytics and customized offers for the companies’ top rankings.
Likewise, Costco and Amazon traded places to number four and number five, respectively.
“After two years of price increases, shoppers are now exploring more retailers and categories, but with greater spending discipline,” said Rohan Mazumdar, VP at Kantar. “The result is a significant shift in power, with consumers now in the driver’s seat. The industry must navigate this new dynamic and find ways to recover from the current stall, driving sustainable and meaningful category growth moving forward."
On the manufacturer side, PepsiCo was named the top supplier for the ninth year in a row, with Kantar noted the company’s continued growth and consumer-oriented business practices. Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé and Unilever round out the top five manufacturers on this year’s list.
[RELATED: PepsiCo Makes $1.2B Deal to Buy Better-for-You Food Brand]
In Kantar’s PoweRanking, brands are ranked on factors ranging from strategic metrics to business fundamentals and includes input from key industry leaders. Kantar looks at all major categories across food, drug, mass merchandise, dollar, convenience, specialty, e-commerce and club channels.
Each week, approximately 255 million customers and members visit Walmart’s more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2024 revenue of $648 billion, the retailer employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Walmart one of its Retailers of the Century.
