Kantar, a market analysis consulting company, recently released a forecast of the retail industry's trends in the next five years. The report surveyed more than 1,500 largest retailers in the world. Among them, the global apparel market will grow at a rate of 3.9% per year, and the market value will increase by US$64 billion within five years.

Kantar said that about half of the growth in the apparel market will come from five major retailers: Uniqlo's parent company Fast Retailing, Zara parent company Spain Inditex, Sweden H&M Group, and U.S. discount retailer TJX And Old Navy, a brand of Gap Group. The report predicts that in 2020, the overall value of the global fashion retail market will reach 300 billion US dollars. By 2025, this number may reach 360 billion US dollars.

　　 Comprehensive analysis of the global retail market, including large supermarkets, brands, discount stores, sales in 2020 will reach 670 billion US dollars, an annual growth rate of 4.8%. More importantly, e-commerce is bound to lead the future growth of the retail industry. This year, e-commerce business increased by 15.7% year-on-year to reach US$861 billion. The online sales channel currently accounts for 12% of total global retail sales, and in the next five years, its growth rate will be four times that of physical transactions. According to Kantar's forecast, in 2021, e-commerce revenue will exceed 1 trillion US dollars, and by 2025, this figure will reach 1.6 trillion US dollars.

　　From a regional perspective, retail activity in the Asia-Pacific region is growing faster than North America and Europe, with a growth rate of 8.6% in Asia, 3.9% in North America, and 3.8% in Europe.

　　 Kantar pointed out that by 2025, Walmart in the United States will remain the world's largest retailer, ahead of the e-commerce giant Amazon, but the gap between the two will narrow. Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com has the strongest growth and will rank third in the world in the next five years.

　　 The Asia-Pacific region has the highest proportion of online sales, reaching 19%, because it is an important birthplace of the e-commerce model.

　　Kantar pointed out: "The growth potential is not limited to China. With the expansion of other innovative companies such as Indian e-commerce company Flipkart or Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab, markets such as India and Indonesia have also gained new opportunities."

　　 Despite this, the vigorous development of e-commerce business has certain drawbacks, such as subverting the order of cross-border trade, which has become a potential conflict between dealers and brands. Kantar warned: "Although Alibaba and Amazon simplify our lives, cross-border business will disrupt pricing policies, inventory management, and create gray areas in the legislative framework."