12+ Must-Know Retail Statistics and Trends for 2024

The latest estimates indicate that the worldwide retail industry grew by 11.3%, from $23.652 trillion in 2021, to $26.326 trillion in 2022. Future projections forecast that the retail industry will continue growing with a CAGR of 10.1% and reach $38.710 trillion in 2026.

With a market size of $6.923 trillion, the US retail industry is one the largest in the world. Stats show that the US retail market size has been increasing with an average growth rate of 3.9% since 2018. Projections for 2023 show that the US retail market will grow by 4.1% and reach $7.208 trillion.

(Globe News Wire, IBIS World)

The state with the largest number of retail businesses in the US is California, with 105,548, followed by Texas, with 80,932, and Florida, with 74,226. Furthermore, stats show that the brand with the largest number of retail stores in the US is Dollar General, with 18,378.

Dollar Tree is number two, with 15,857, followed by 7-Eleven, with 12,689 stores across the USA. CVS Health Corporation, with 9,773, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, with 8,600, round up the top five.

(IBIS World, Statista)

The largest portion of Walmart’s revenue was generated through domestic sales, and the American retail giant only generated $84.34 billion internationally. Nevertheless, Walmart is undisputably the number one retailer in the world, with 10,431 worldwide storefronts, 5,175 of which are located in the USA.

The second spot goes to another American industry leader, Amazon, which generated $330.20 billion in sales, $113.64 billion of which came from outside the US. German retailers Schwarz Group and Aldi took the third and fourth spots, with $158.58 billion and $134.67 billion, respectively, while the fifth place went to yet another US retailer, Costco, with $187.16 billion in sales.

(NRF)

Retail sales data reveals that only motor vehicle and parts dealers, who made $1.405 trillion in sales, generated more revenues than online retailers in the US. Food services and drinking establishments made $934.468 billion, food and beverage stores made $859.061 billion, and general merchandise stores generated revenues of $741.564 billion.

Gasoline stations made $705.161 billion, building material and garden equipment supplies dealers made $471.619 billion, and health and personal care stores made $362.427 billion in sales.

(Census Bureau)

Retail industry analysis indicates that the retail trade industry is one of the largest employers in the USA, though its number of employees steadily grows year after year. Namely, in 2021, 19,082,576 Americans worked in retail, and their number increased to 19,652,871 by 2022.

In 2023, the number of American retail employees grew by another 3.3% and reached 20,296,672. Additionally, data suggests that the average growth rate of retail employees in the US since 2018 is 2.7%, and the average number of employees a single retail business employs is 5.9.

(IBIS World)

In absolute figures, $265.947 billion out of the $1.791 trillion in Q3 2022 were generated through ecommerce sales. In the previous quarter, 14.5%, or $258.203 billion, out of the $1.780 trillion sales in US retail were ecommerce, while in the first quarter of 2022, ecommerce sales accounted for 14.3%, or $250.424 billion out of $1.745 trillion total retail sales.

While retail trends indicate that the ecommerce share of retail sales grows quarter by quarter, quarterly comparisons with the year before show even more significant growth. Namely, the ecommerce share of retail sales in Q1 of 2022 was 6.8% higher than in Q1 of 2021, it was 7.2% higher in Q2 of 2022 than in Q2 of 2021, and 10.8% higher in Q3 of 2022 than in Q3 of 2021.

(Census Bureau)

Consumer trends in retail show that this is the least popular way of shopping as the smallest percentage of consumers practice it. Furthermore, a similarly low portion of 17% of consumers says they have bought something online and had it delivered to their workplace.

Buying in-store and having it delivered to their home, with 30%, and buying online and collecting it from the store, with 33%, are slightly more popular methods, and the only two methods that have increased their popularity by 2% since 2019.

According to the latest retail industry trends, 51% of consumers bought something online and had it delivered to their homes, and the largest portion, 68%, bought something in-store and took it home themselves.

(Oracle)

According to almost half of US consumers, great prices are hard to resist, while another 39% believe that special offers and discounts are also compelling. Promotional offers are also the most popular reason for consumers to try a new brand, cited by 30% of them.

Trends in the retail industry also show that bad customer service is the main reason brands lose customers, and it would compel 39% of consumers to stop buying from it. The second most popular reason is not having the needed items in stock, cited by 29% of consumers.

When their favorite brand doesn’t have what they need in stock, 39% of consumers buy an alternative product from the same brand, and 32% wait for the brand to re-stock, though 22% refuse to compromise and buy the product from a different retailer.

(Oracle)

Retail marketing trends reveal that most consumers believe they get the best offers on social media, 19% feel that way about email offers, and only 15% cite in-store promotions as the best.

When asked what social media provides them with the best offers and chances to learn about new products, Facebook and Instagram were the most mentioned answers, by 26% and 25% of the consumers, respectively. Another 15% of consumers cited YouTube, and 14% opted for TikTok.

(Oracle)

Omnichannel retail trends also show that 81% of Americans shopped across three or four different channels in the past six months, while more than half of them do it on a daily or weekly basis.

Moreover, 31% of US consumers used VR technology to purchase digital products or NFTs, and 19% used it to buy luxury goods. Lastly, the stats show that 35% of the consumers who already use VR for shopping that their VR spending will increase in six or more categories in the following six months.

(PWC)

Brick-and-mortar retail statistics show that buying in-store is the most popular method of shopping across all generations, though the largest portion of Boomer consumers cited it as such.

In comparison, 73% of Gen X, 65% of Millennials, and 55% of Gen Z consumers say they prefer shopping in-store. On the other hand, buying through an online retailer that sells a variety of brands is the consumers’ second favorite way of shopping.

Millennial spending statistics show that 55% of Millennials prefer shopping this way, an equal portion of 53% of Gen Xers and Boomers, and 50% of Gen Z consumers prefer it as well.

Finally, according to US retail sales statistics, 37% of Gen Z consumers prefer buying directly from a company’s website, and 24% of Gen X consumers, from the company’s mobile app.

(HubSpot)

According to holiday spending statistics, retail sales in the US traditionally peak around the Winter Holiday season. In the last five years, sales numbers solely from November and December average at almost one-fifth, or 19%, of the sales from the entire year.

Retail sales figures also show that for specific types of retailers, holiday sales account for an even bigger portion of their total sales. Namely, department stores made 35.5% of their total sales during the holiday season in 2021, while holiday purchases accounted for 33.9% of the total sales for hobby, toy, and game stores.

Additionally, gift, novelty, and souvenir stores made 32.4%, clothing stores made 30.9%, and electronic stores made 30.1% of the total yearly sales during the same period.

(NRF, Statista)