Meet retail’s 50 global innovators

Chosen by Retail Week’s expert team of journalists and analysts following game-changing advancements and savvy investments over the last 12 months, we present retail’s 50 global innovators of 2024. 

These are the retailers to look to, and learn from, for inspiration when it comes to using tech as an enabler of tangible growth.  

While great tech innovation is not solely limited to the 50 retail businesses spotlighted, we believe there are notable insights to be gained from their approaches. 

You will also find that not all technology investments are featured in a retailer’s strategy; Ikea for instance has been making real headway in EV charging and reducing its carbon emissions, yet our team decided to profile its AI and metaverse investments due to the level of innovation displayed. Think of our profiles as a springboard to showing how tech innovation can be successfully implemented. 

1. Ahold Delhaize (Netherlands) 
2. Aldi (Germany) 
3. Alibaba (China) 
4. Amazon (US) 
5. Carrefour (France) 
6. Coles (Australia) 
7. Co-op (UK)
8. Currys (UK) 
9. Decathlon (France) 
10. eBay (US) 
11. Esselunga (Italy) 
12. Estée Lauder (US) 
13. H&M (Sweden) 
14. Holland & Barrett (UK) 
15. Ikea (Sweden) 
16. Inditex (Spain) 
17. JD Sports (UK) 
18. John Lewis Partnership (UK)
19. Kingfisher (UK) 
20. L’Oréal (France) 
21. Lululemon (Canada) 
22. Majid Al Futtaim (UAE) 
23. Mango (Spain) 
24. Marks & Spencer (UK) 
25. Morrisons (UK) 
26. Miniso (China) 
27. Next (UK) 
28. Nike (US) 
29. Nobody’s Child (UK) 
30. Ocado (UK) 
31. Panda Retail (Saudi Arabia) 
32. Patagonia (US) 
33. Pets at Home (UK) 
34. Primark (Republic of Ireland) 
35. Reliance Retail (India) 
36. Rewe Group (Germany) 
37. Sainsbury’s (UK) 
38. Selfridges (UK) 
39. Sephora (France) 
40. Shoprite (South Africa) 
41. Temu (China) 
42. Tesco (UK) 
43. The Very Group (UK) 
44. TikTok Shop (China) 
45. Uniqlo (Japan) 
46. Walmart (US) 
47. Woolworths (South Africa) 
48. Żabka (Poland) 
49. Zalando (Germany) 
50. 7-Eleven (Japan) 

Click through the chapters on the main navigation bar above to meet the global innovators, gain an understanding of the state of retail innovation today and access fresh insights.