Steady growth of 5.3 percent in 2014 is attributed to improved performance in Western Europe, according tot he research. “Western Europe registered its biggest increase since 2008 while Eastern Europe experienced its biggest slowdown with 6 percent growth due to the conflict in Ukraine and economic sanctions on Russia,” said Daniel Latev, head of retailing at Euromonitor International.

Other key findings show:

• Nigeria is expected to see a compound annual growth rate of 10.9 percent to 2019, due to a growing middle class and an overall increase in disposable income.

• In the last year, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa were the most dynamic regions with increases of more than 12 percent in retail sales.

• Apparel and footwear are reported to be the most popular products sold online and are expected to generate more than $360bn. Food and beverages are expected to be the most dynamic with 18.2 percent CAGR by 2019.

• Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Seven and I remain the top global three retailers, while Tesco lost its fourth-place market share to Schwarz Beteiligungs.

• Amazon and Alibaba are the only online retailers in the top 15 global retail rankings.

Online retailing is set to generate a third of all new retail sales, driven by strong growth in both emerging and developed markets. Mobile internet retailing will account for 32 percent of internet retailing sales compared to 18 percent in 2014. Euromonitor International forecasts internet retailing to increase by 15 percent CAGR to reach $1.7tr by 2019, making multichannel operations key for all retailers looking for growth.

Source: Euromonitor International