GRDI 2019-Global-Retail-Growth - A-Mix-of-New-Consumers-and-Old-Traditions
GRDI 2019-Global-Retail-Growth - A-Mix-of-New-Consumers-and-Old-Traditions
GRDI 2019-Global-Retail-Growth - A-Mix-of-New-Consumers-and-Old-Traditions
A Mix of New
Consumers and
Old Traditions
Geopolitical instability and the growing power of local and
regional competition in emerging markets are forcing global
retailers to continually rethink their strategies.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 1
Global retailing today is defined by paradox. Even as the Internet, social media, and the
widespread deployment of mobile telephony have brought the world closer, helping create a
truly “global” consumer, renewed feelings of nationalism, and even tribalism, are surging
around the world. And as retailing companies—digital and physical—seek to develop trade
relations with other countries, the flow of goods available to them are subject to often
draconian nationalistic tariffs, taxes, and regulation.
This year’s A.T. Kearney 2019 Global Retail Development Index found that national, regional,
and local realities—from Internet connectivity to the availability and cost of labor—continue to
shape retail development around the world (see figure). That said, economic development and
trade policy are still the largest factors in shaping global retail growth in consumer markets.
National
GDP MA CR MS TP Rank
2019 Population retail Final
Country Region PPP/Cap vs.
Rank (mn) sales score
(US$) 2017
(US$ bn) (25%) (25%) (25%) (25%)
1 China Asia East 1,394 18,110 3,869 100.0 72.7 18.9 88.4 70 1
2 India Asia South 1,371 7,874 1,202 60.2 60.9 66.8 88.8 69.2 –1
3 Malaysia Asia South East 32 30,860 110 76.9 87.8 23.1 59.9 61.9 0
4 Ghana Africa West 29 6,452 24 18.3 42.3 96.6 79.5 59.2 27
5 Indonesia Asia South East 265 13,230 396 51.7 50.2 53.2 79.8 58.7 3
6 Senegal Africa West 16 3,651 10 7.3 24.3 91.4 99.2 55.6 New
7 Saudi Arabia MENA ME 33 55,944 125 84.4 69.4 16.1 49.9 54.9 4
8 Jordan MENA ME 10 9,433 15 44.2 51.1 60.1 59.4 53.7 7
9 UAE MENA ME 10 69,382 78 86.0 100.0 0.5 24.6 52.8 –4
10 Colombia America South 50 14,943 101 46.7 71.9 42.2 43.8 51.1 0
11 Vietnam Asia South East 95 7,511 109 25.1 25.3 61.6 88.7 50.2 –5
12 Morocco MENA NA 35 8,933 47 32.9 53.7 63.0 51.0 50.2 –5
13 Peru America South 32 14,224 66 42.7 63.1 47.2 47.1 50 –4
14 Dominican Rep America Central 11 18,425 30 50.0 17.5 61.6 59.1 47 –1
15 Kazakhstan Asia Central 18 27,550 53 53.4 38.8 65.0 30.9 47 1
16 Brazil America South 209 16,154 472 65.5 67.4 25.4 28.1 46.6 13
17 Bulgaria Europe East 7 23,156 23 65.3 61.3 10.5 47.2 46.1 New
18 Sri Lanka Asia South 22 13,397 35 23.9 38.5 72.0 48.0 45.6 –6
19 Azerbaijan Asia Central 10 18,076 15 34.7 23.5 82.8 40.6 45.4 4
20 Philippines Asia South East 107 8,936 148 29.4 37.7 35.2 75.7 44.5 –2
21 Paraguay America South 7 13,395 13 20.7 15.0 85.6 56.5 44.5 –2
22 Turkey Europe East 81 27,956 208 60.3 58.3 33.6 24.8 44.2 –18
23 Russia Europe East 147 29,267 497 79.8 36.0 0.0 58.8 43.6 –1
24 Thailand Asia South East 66 19,476 146 50.3 51.8 10.4 59.3 43 6
25 Tunisia MENA NA 12 12,372 14 27.4 34.0 69.4 37.5 42.1 –1
26 Egypt MENA NA 97 13,366 116 21.6 15.7 68.5 59.8 41.4 New
27 Serbia Europe East 7 17,555 20 52.0 45.3 13.0 48.9 39.8 8
28 Tanzania Africa East 59 3,444 24 0.0 12.0 96.0 45.7 38.4 –7
29 Guatemala America Central 17 8,436 38 31.8 6.9 66.3 39.3 36.1 5
30 Nigeria Africa West 196 6,027 105 12.4 8.0 90.2 32.7 35.8 –3
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 1
Good Regulation Nurtures Some Markets, While
Bad Law Suffocates Others
Impacting everything from cost-of-goods to the consumer to the cost of doing business in a
country, taxation policies dictate discretionary consumer spend; lead certain companies to
operate or not operate in individual markets; and even determine the quality and quantity of
goods for sale. Bulgaria, for example, enjoys one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the region,
making it attractive to new investors, especially when combined with its low labor costs.
Russia, on the other hand, is a nation where complicated customs, bureaucratic procedures,
and a postal service not always known for reliability all but prevent international retailers such as
Amazon from entering the market, at least without a Russian partner. A value-added tax (VAT)
increase to 20 percent, largely passed on to shoppers by smaller retailers, makes the market
even less attractive since it increases operating costs in a market where disposable income is
already an issue. Last year, in an effort to diversify away from its dependency on oil revenues,
Saudi Arabia, like Russia, also adopted a VAT of 5 percent across a broad range of goods,
causing a decline in spending.
In Egypt, access to labor is particularly challenging due to limited availability of talent, low
switching costs between employers, and a lack of capability development. Even poor
infrastructure conspires against potential employers, especially those operating in labor-
intensive sectors such as retail. An employee’s travel from low-income housing areas into Cairo
can take upwards of three hours each way.
It’s not always a matter of how many people are available to work, but who is—or isn’t—
allowed to hold a job. The Saudi Arabian government’s decision to provide increasing
freedom to women is expected to increase women’s labor force participation to 25 percent by
2020 and 30 percent by 2030. Not only are women now allowed to drive but the recent ruling
to make abayas—the black robe that women have traditionally worn when in public—optional
also indicates that the government values the role of women and sees them as integral to
many facets of life.
The Kingdom hopes to provide retail job opportunities for an additional million Saudis,
especially women, by 2020 and to increase the contribution of modern trade and e-commerce
to 80 percent of its retail sector by 2020.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 2
Online Retailers Reshape Markets Quite Differently
from Country to Country
As part of its National Transformation Program Saudi Arabia also plans to broadly deploy
high-speed Internet services, which has already led to increases in 4G access expected to boost
the e-commerce sector, with 5G launching in June of 2019. Across the border in Jordan about 89
percent of consumers have an Internet subscription and smartphone penetration is more than
90 percent.
India’s online retail market is projected to increase at a healthy CAGR of 25–28 percent, reach
$55–60 billion by 2020, account for 25 percent of the total organized market, and grow to
37 percent by 2030. Internet retailing in Colombia is predicted to reach COP 53.5 trillion in 2023,
while across the border in Brazil, facilitated by high rates of urbanization, the national chains’
share of online retail sales is set to expand from 12.5 percent to 16.7 percent by 2023.
China’s retail sector—valued today at $3.8 trillion and expected to reach $6.6 trillion by 2024—is
characterized by a blurring of the line separating offline and online retail (a model known in
China as “new retail”). Big e-commerce players such as Alibaba are actively partnering with local
Chinese “mom-and-pop” stores, helping them to modernize by providing no- or low-cost retail
management platforms, allowing partnering stores to optimize product procurement and
sourcing.
As healthy as global e-commerce is, the picture for brick-and-mortar retailing is also promising.
Tim Hortons opened its first Chinese outlet in February 2019 and plans to open another 1,500
locations over the next 10 years. Aldi opened its first Shanghai store in June 2019, and Costco
followed a month later with its first Chinese store.
With retail growth rates of 7.1 percent in 2018, and household grocery consumption expected to
grow by around 5 percent each year between 2019 and 2023, Bulgaria is one of Europe’s
trailblazers for brick-and-mortar retail. And, despite trade sanctions, urban Russian consumers
still enjoy “high street” shopping, although stores in rural regions often close on weekends due
to weak demand or gaps in supply. Russian consumer spending on groceries will grow by 4
percent year-on-year between 2019 and 2023, driven largely by inflation.
In Colombia, the expansion of discount stores remains the largest retail trend, but IDG expects
to see other concepts emerge as competition intensifies. That said, price continues to be
important. Shoppers are increasingly searching for value, and the discount channel’s strength is
a combination of being physically close to where consumers live, offering low prices on a
limited range of goods, and the strength of its private label products.
Bolstered by rising consumption and robust investment, Jordan’s retail market has been
growing steadily at around 7 percent over the past two years and is projected to grow at around
10.5 percent annually, reaching $1.5 billion by 2021 with retail space expected to grow at 5
percent through 2023. According to the Department of Statistics, about 20 percent of Jordan’s
working population was employed in the wholesale and retail trade sectors in 2017. And while
Jordan’s retail growth is impressive, India is one of the most compelling stories found in this
year’s report.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 3
The continued growth potential of the Indian economy and retail market has attracted various
international retailers. Fueled by international investment and domestic innovation, the Indian
market is growing in sophistication, not just size.
Major retailers are using analytics and advanced predictive modeling tools to capture customer
behavior and footfall. Retailers such as ABFRL, Shoppers Stop, and Big Bazaar are focusing on
optimizing the experience of the consumer through data and analytics.
In the following sections, we take a closer look at the trends in select countries and the global
retail growth of some of the most interesting companies highlighted in this year’s Index.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 4
China: Still promising, but challenging
Unorganized, traditional retail still dominates in China at nearly 80 percent of the market. Big
e-commerce players are plugging into that fact by partnering with local mom-and-pop stores.
Alibaba offers small shops a retail-management platform, Ling Shou Tong, at zero or minimal
cost to modernize their functions such as product procurement and sourcing. Still, modern
retail continues to catch up with traditional stores. Chinese consumers’ demand for the
experience and unique product categories is fueling growth of convenience stores and other
modern formats. The two fastest growing areas of modern retail will be supermarkets and
neighborhood stores, and mass merchandisers, growing at a CAGR of 17 percent and 15.3
percent respectively through 2024. “New retail” continues to meld offline and online retail.
Alibaba’s Hema Supermarkets combine the two with experience retailing. JD.com opened
7Fresh Supermarkets with smart carts in China recently, and Tencent has introduced its own
smart retail strategy.
International retailers have found the China market both attractive and challenging during the
past two years. German supermarket company Aldi and American warehouse club chain
Costco opened their first stores in Shanghai in 2019. Tim Hortons, the Canadian QSR chain,
opened its first outlet in 2019 and plans to open another 1,500 locations in China during the next
10 years. And while other retailers, including Sam’s Club and Starbucks, plan to expand in the
coming years, other foreign retailers are closing Chinese operations. German giant Metro AG
shuttered its convenience stores in late 2017 due to stiff competition and high rents. Japanese
retailer Takashimaya exited in 2019, and UK fashion retailer New Look left China in 2018.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 5
India: Vibrant retail, in-store and online
Premiumization is a major trend. The luxury segment is expected to grow since the introduction
of a GST in 2017. Apple, Alexander McQueen, and Yves Saint Laurent plan to open stores in
India, the latter two at the DLF Chanakya luxury brand mall in New Delhi. Tiffany & Co. has
partnered with Reliance to debut stores in New Delhi in 2019 and Mumbai in 2020. More
international retailers are now in the market, including IKEA, Under Armour, American Eagle
Outfitters, Miniso, Ted Baker, Go Sport, Replay, and Hummel.
We expect modern retail to grow at 18 percent during the next five years as innovative platforms
offering quality, convenience, and easier access are introduced. ABFRL, Shoppers Stop, and
Big Bazaar are using analytics and advanced predictive modeling tools to capture customer
behavior and footfall, while mall developer DLF is using them to tailor its space allocation and
promotions. Indian consumers love online shopping, too. Online spend per shopper is expected
to nearly double to $309 by 2030 from its current $183. Overall, we see online growing at a
healthy 28 percent CAGR to $60 billion by 2020, with shoppers favoring purchases of
electronics and lifestyle products the most. Online grocery promises to be the next growth
wave at a whopping 87 percent CAGR by 2022. Both small and large grocery specialists have
entered the segment horizontally—specifically MilkBasket, NinjaCart, and Supr—while
vertically integrated players such as Amazon Pantry and Flipkart’s Supermart are testing it
(despite an initial perception as low-margin).
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 6
Ghana: Africa’s new bright spot
Urbanization will be a major driver for modern retailing, which is expected to reach $33.16
billion by 2024. Informal retailing dominates now, but the landscape is changing. Space in
department and variety stores is targeted to grow by 15 percent through 2023. More
international retailers view Ghana as the next go-to market. Sporting goods retailer Decathlon
opened a store in Ghana in 2017—its largest in West Africa—and hopes to expand with 50 more
stores across the country. International supermarket chain Pick & Pay plans to open a store this
year, and Massmart has opened three outlets since 2017. There are new shopping malls,
primarily in big cities such as Sekondi-Takoradi and Accra.
While just 38 percent of Ghanians have Internet access, most are from the middle class, so
e-commerce opportunities exist. In April 2019, DHL launched DHL Africa eShop, an app that
brings 200-plus US and UK online retailers to shoppers in 11 African countries, including Ghana.
Overall, the country may have a relatively low average income, but it is expected to be the
fastest growing economy in the world this year.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 7
Saudi Arabia: Regaining strength
Numbers aside, the country’s youthful population, healthy spend capacity, and dynamism are
attracting major retailers using regional partnerships to establish themselves in the country.
Apple paired with Fawaz Al Hokair Co. to open its first store, while SPAR International is
working with Al Sadhan Group to open 40 stores by 2020. Diamond jewelry retailer De Beers
opened a store in Riyadh with Saudi Jawahir Trading Company, and German luxury brand
MCM entered the market with NicheArabia.
E-commerce is healthy and likely to grow further thanks to government plans to deploy
high-speed Internet. Currently valued at $6.3 billion, online retail could reach $10.2 billion by
2023. It is thriving in part due to major e-commerce retailers such as Souq.com and Noon.com.
Online is growing fast, with Todoorstep, Nana Direct, Danube, and Qareeb all well established,
while Mezmiz and L’Organic are fairly new to the market. Many retailers are building an
omnichannel presence, including IKEA and Landmark Arabia, which have launched click-and-
collect service, and West Elm, which is working with Rent the Runway to establish an online
channel and subscription model for its home furnishings products.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 8
Jordan: Ongoing stability
The country’s retail market is an important part of the economy, having grown at a healthy
5 percent for two years running. Even with high unemployment (19 percent) and poverty
(20 percent), the growth is expected to be 4.3 percent annually to reach $17.5 billion by 2021
and then level off at a still strong 5 percent through 2023. Across the country, retail is shifting
toward modern channels, especially in the West Amman region, where upscale shopping
outlets and wealthy consumers drive demand, in both prosperous and lagging times.
E-commerce is in its youth here, slowed by high logistics costs and middle-class shoppers’ price
sensitivity. But rising disposable income and a sizable youth population indicate strong
potential for online retail. Jordan’s Internet penetration is at least 62 percent. Ninety percent of
Jordanians have a smartphone, most with an Internet subscription. Finally, the government’s tax
exemption for online purchases also bodes well. Open Sooq, Amazon, Tawjihi, eBay, Ali
Express, and Mawdoo are already in the market, and fertile conditions mean the prospects for
more entrants in modern retail and e-commerce are good.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 9
Colombia: Value-conscious and Internet-savvy
Among new entrants in Colombia’s grocery, discount, warehouse club, and online sectors were
PriceSmart (from the US), Makro SA (from South Africa), and Mercado Libre (from Argentina).
Expanding retailers included Ara (to open 200 stores), Tiendras D1 (to open 125 stores), and
Grupo Exito (to open 58 stores). Supertiendas Olimpica, Cencosud Colombia, and Oxxo are
also opening new stores. With 60 percent Internet penetration, Colombians have one of the
highest Internet presences in South America. Last year, online retail grew 62 percent to $2.85
billion. Moreover, e-commerce is expected to achieve a 40 percent CAGR to reach $15.4 billion
by 2023.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 10
Brazil: A turning point ahead?
Yet the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president broke 14 years of left-wing rule, bringing hope to
Brazilians that the future may improve. The economy is structurally stronger, the currency more
flexible, and inflation has abated. If Bolsonaro’s government is successful, renewed confidence
and rising income levels could spark retail growth. Government-sanctioned taxpayer
withdrawals from severance indemnity and social contribution funds could allow discretionary
spending. Labor reforms now let retailers hire workers for flexible hours, which could create
500,000 retail jobs.
Currently, consumers favor small-box formats for grocery, because the largely urban population
shops for small quantities at high frequency. Still, mass merchandisers and cash-and-carry
clubs could grow at 12.3 percent CAGR and 7.4 percent CAGR respectively through 2024.
E-commerce is forecast to grow at an 11 percent CAGR to $34 billion during the next five years.
National chain online sales are set to expand 12–16 percent during the same timeframe.
International retailers have entered and left Brazil recently. British retailer WH Smith arrived in
2018, as did French fashion brand Kiabi. At the same time, Versace, Ralph Lauren, and VF
Corporation’s Vans and Timberland exited as the luxury market shrank. Still, Casino is
investing $464 million in its Brazilian operations, Carrefour is improving its omnichannel
capabilities, and Amazon is due to grow at a CAGR of 37 percent through 2023.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 11
Bulgaria: European trailblazer
Online, e-commerce is forecast to generate $626 million in revenue in 2019 and continue on a
growth track of 8.2 percent CAGR for the next four years. Price-sensitive consumers gravitate
online, prompting brick-and-mortar discounters to expand their multichannel offerings.
Romania-based Dante International is the leading online retailer now, through its eMag brand.
Amazon is hardly present, but H&M, Zara, and IKEA are active.
With one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the region (10 percent), and low labor costs,
Bulgaria is relatively well positioned for foreign investments. Still, it behooves retailers to
monitor the shrinking working-age population and the government’s slow progress in
fighting corruption.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 12
Turkey: Slow store expansion, but online beckons
Still, Turkey has one of the largest consumer markets in Europe. Modern retailers continue to
gain ground against independent ones. Grocery accounts for 62 percent of total retail sales.
Discount remains the largest and one of the fastest growing subsegments of grocery, driven
mainly by acquisition and transformation of stores by local players BIM, A101, and Sok, which
will open 500–1,000 stores in 2019, a rate it expects to maintain through 2023. Convenience is
the second-leading format, dominated by Migros Ticaret. French retailer Carrefour appeals to
middle-class consumers. And fashion enjoys a highly diverse market, where international players
compete, especially in Istanbul and in shopping malls. Active big brands include Zara, Massimo
Dutti, Victoria’s Secret, and Mango.
E-commerce is poised to benefit from retailers’ investments and the young, urban, middle-class
population. The segment’s current revenue is $8.05 billion and is expected to grow at 25.4 percent
CAGR through 2023. Its largest segments are electronics and media. Migros Ticaret entered
online grocery in 2018. User penetration is 61 percent and will climb to 70.2 percent, which could
tempt other players to expand online as well, even as they slow brick-and-mortar expansion.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 13
Russia: Tenacity and flexibility open doors
Consumers search out the best value, particularly in rural areas. Local players will continue to
dominate, driven by expansion of Pyaterochka, Okey Group’s DA!, and Monetka. Convenience
remains the largest modern retail channel, dominated by Krasnoe & Beloe and Bristol, which
plan to open hundreds of stores. Consumer spending on grocery will grow 4 percent annually,
limited by households’ continued wage stagnation. The picture is different in metropolitan areas,
where consumers still enjoy “high street” shopping. H&M and Inditex are a major presence, with
139 and 549 stores respectively. Luxury brands Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Balenciaga, Burberry,
and Louis Vuitton are growing, albeit online, where H&M and Inditex also plan to concentrate
future resources. IKEA, Leroy Merline, Castorama, and OBI dominate housewares. Conversely,
a few retailers are leaving Russia: UK-based NEXT will close its 24 stores due to low profitability,
and leading retailer MediaMarkt closed all of its outlets last year, with M Video acquiring most
of them.
As we mentioned above, online expansion continues. Revenue in Russia’s e-commerce will hit
$18.61 billion in 2019 and grow at 7.5 percent CAGR through 2023. Complicated customs
procedures and shaky postal services prevent international retailers from entering, leaving
plenty of room for the nationals, which often seek joint ventures. Names here include
Sberbank and Yandex, AliExpress Russia, Mail.ru Group, Megafon, and Russia Direct
Investment Fund.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 14
Egypt: Awaiting international entrants
The retail sector saw solid 25 percent growth from 2017 to 2018, surpassing $115 billion in sales.
Growth from 2018 to 2020 should be 13 percent. The Egyptian retail market is dominated by
traditional grocery and small neighborhood shops, which provide value-for-money goods to
low-income consumers. In comparison, supermarkets and hypermarkets saw consumers curtail
their visits a bit in 2018, and introduced loyalty programs, promotions, and discounts to
counteract price sensitivity. Along with food and beverage, apparel and footwear was a key
growth segment during the past five years. Going forward, modern retailers will outpace
traditional ones and could achieve growth of up to 14 percent.
Although no major retailers entered or exited the market in the past year, major Middle Eastern
outlets have expressed interest in expanding to Egypt. UAE-based retailer Lulu will open eight
hypermarkets in Egypt by 2022. Majid Al Futtaim will open 20 additional Carrefour stores, and
UAE Al Futtaim will expand the Cairo Festival City Mall, adding 120 new stores.
Internet retailing is in an early phase but is expected to surge at a 28 percent CAGR through 2023
as local and foreign retailers enter the market. Knockmart, Souq, Jumia, Fakahany, NGS Egypt,
and OLX are prominent e-commerce merchants now. Internet penetration is at 50 percent, but a
lack of infrastructure and a cash-payment society are major hurdles.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 15
Serbia: Rare European underdevelopment
The food and nonalcoholic beverage sector, valued at $9.2 billion, has the largest share of
household spend. German supermarket Lidl disrupted the discount market in 2018, where
Tempo Ekspres has dominated. We expect the apparel and footwear market to grow, supported
by the expansion of fashion giants H&M, Inditex, and LLP. IKEA, Minio, and Emmezeta recently
entered the household goods market and could increase consumer spending to 5.3 percent
annually for the next four years. Vibrant shopping districts have mushroomed in Belgrade, Novi
Sad, and Nis. Austrian real estate investor Immofinanz Group has begun construction of its 10th
retail park under the STOP SHOP name, where brands including Deichmann, DM, Waikiki, New
Yorker, and Sport Vision will set up shop.
Several factors are slowing expansion of the country’s e-commerce, namely a shrinking
population of consumers between 20 and 39 years old and poor infrastructure. Yet, e-commerce
is expected to outpace traditional channels with a 9.6 percent CAGR, which should generate
revenue of $510 million by 2023. Electronics and media hold the largest share. While average
revenue per user is just $61.08, the country’s 2.9 million online shoppers should increase by
more than 1 million by 2021.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 16
Authors
The authors wish to thank the following colleagues for their valuable contributions to this report: Nikhil Rajput,
Priyanka Gupta, Indira Banerjea, Anders Lofgren, Sohal Choubey, Smriti Tankha, Stefan Marcu, Bart Van Dijk,
Bob Willen, Esteban Bowles, Maple Zhang, Subhendu Roy, Mohammed Dhedhi, and Priyanka Gupta.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 17
Appendix: About the Global Retail
Development Index
The A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index ranks 30 developing countries on a scale of
zero to 100—the higher the ranking, the more urgency to enter a country. Countries are selected
from 200 nations based on three criteria:
Wealth. GDP per capita of more than $3,000 (The GDP-per-capita threshold for countries with
more than 35 million people is more flexible because of the market opportunity.)
Business risk (20 percent). Business cost of terrorism, crime, violence, and corruption. The
higher the rating, the lower the risk of doing business.
Population (20 percent). A score of zero indicates the country is relatively small with limited
opportunities for growth.
Urban population (10 percent). A score of zero indicates a mostly rural country; 100 indicates a
mostly urban country.
Number of large cities (10 percent). A score of zero indicates all cities in the country have less
than a million inhabitants; 100 indicates a significant number of large cities with more than a
million inhabitants.
Business efficiency (20 percent). Parameters include government effectiveness, burden of law
and regulations, ease of doing business, and infrastructure quality. A score of zero indicates
inefficiency; 100 indicates highly efficient.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 18
Number of international retailers (30 percent). Country presence was analyzed for about 300
retailers. Countries with the maximum number of retailers have the lowest score.
Modern retail sales area per urban inhabitant (20 percent). A score of zero indicates the
country ranks high in total modern retail area per urban inhabitant, close to the average Western
European level of 200 square meters per 1,000 inhabitants.
Market share of leading retailers (20 percent). A score of zero indicates a highly concentrated
market; 100 indicates a fragmented market.
Data and analysis are based on the United Nations Population Division database, International
Monetary Fund, and Economist Intelligence Unit national statistics; Euromoney and World Bank
reports; and Euromonitor and Planet Retail databases.
The 2019 Global Retail Development Index: A Mix of New Consumers and Old Traditions 19
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