Here are this year’s most valuable global retail brands

The Kantar BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Brands report has arrived! And we’ve summarized its major findings so you don’t have to. 

When anyone thinks about the more valuable brands in the world, some prominent names come to mind immediately. Small luxury brands that sell limited ranges of high-end goods may have a slim chance of replicating their type of success, but exploring why they top the list still provides valuable insights. 

The strongest brands grab the biggest market shares in their industries

Who are the winners in this year’s most valuable brands list?

Apple – For the third year in a row, this tech brand claims the number one spot. This seems obvious to anyone who read the recent news that they became the first trillion-dollar business in history. As industry leaders, they continue to experience rapid growth.

Google – Nothing can erase this corporation with such a strong brand presence that goes far beyond a search engine. It also corners a large portion of the market for mapping and navigation, email platform provision, office work software, and more. It has a value of $753.5 billion.

Microsoft – The power of this tech brand surged in 2024 with a 42% upward change to claim the third-place spot on this list. From office suites to IT team deployment platforms, this brand covers a lot of ground in the world of technology.

Amazon comes next, and McDonald’s finishes out the top five. It is the only brand on the list that does not specifically focus on tech and computer products and services. The remainder— NVIDIA, Visa, Facebook, Oracle, and Tencent—return mostly to the realm of innovative products.

The study covers 13 separate categories from apparel to media and more. Corona topped the list of alcohol brands due to their rapid spread in diverse international markets. Hermes has crept up in the luxury sector because of rapid growth in the Chinese market. Netflix, despite its unpopular decisions about password sharing, has risen two points in the entertainment list.

Interestingly, the overall value of the Top 100 global brands has increased considerably even in these difficult economic times. Instead of fitting into this list with $4 billion in value, brands had to top $19 this year. The large corporations are worth more than ever before due to a variety of factors such as increased pricing and higher profit margins and more volume control of their markets.

Valuable companies focus on technological innovation

Exploring the top ten strong brands on the list shows a clear interest in technology when it comes to making money. Other prominent brands include Adobe, AMD, Instagram, and Uber, which follow along in this same vein. Continued innovation is one of the key factors in financial performance and overall growth.

Is the overall strength of a brand only reliant on selling tech products or providing digital services? Although the list seems to point in that direction, inclusions like McDonald’s and Nike, which holds the highest ranking in the apparel category, show this isn’t necessarily true. Louis Vuitton is the top luxury brand, and specialty retailers like Lowe’s, TJ Maxx, and Aldi have a strong showing in the retail category.

What can retailers learn from the untouchable top ranked brands?

As stated earlier, no small company with limited market reach and a relatively small product line could compete with giants like Apple or Amazon. This is simply not the intention of those wanting to succeed in today’s retail industry. Despite this, there are impressive business opportunities to discover if you recognize what these top-ranked brands have in common. 

What are the key factors in their success, especially when it comes to the fastest risers?

Consistent brand image matters to create connections with consumers

Everyone can recognize the unique Apple logo, and the golden arches symbolize McDonald’s no matter where you see them. This strength of a brand’s identity has helped turn them into iconic household names. This is about a lot more than logos and color schemes. The story and perceived value behind the brand are what matters more.

Any retailer can replicate this in their own company. Create a cohesive, attention-grabbing, and empathetic brand image, impression, and story that resonates with your target audience. While this is best done before you launch, it is possible to reimagine your company over time. The big brands have done it.

Focus on the customer experience from start to finish

Valuable company brands care about customer satisfaction. In 2023, Apple received an impressive 80% satisfaction rating for their smartphones alone. People wouldn’t keep buying products with premium pricing year after year if the brand couldn’t satisfy them with quality service, communication, and other desired qualities. The head of Kantar BrandZ, Martin Guerrieria even stated that, “This year, brands investing in AI are seeing remarkable gains by reaping the benefits of enhanced customer experience.”

Customer choice is never something outside of your control. The attention to detail, transparency in marketing messages, and reliability and honesty in communication go a long way to swaying opinions. This matters so much more than during the actual sale.

Pay attention to consumer behavior to deliver unique, personalized experiences

With the recent omnipresence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the world of business and personal computing, there is no doubt that this type of smart technology plays a huge role in the success of major brands. Although corporations like Amazon actually help create AI systems, others use it to streamline business practices and deliver exactly what consumers want.

If you have enough data about consumer behavior in your industry or niche, you have an amazing opportunity to tweak what your brand does so it aligns with buyer wants and needs perfectly. Combine this with well-researched and analyzed details about market conditions, and it becomes much easier to create an ongoing brand-building strategy that works.

This is where Clientbook comes in. More than a simple customer relationship management tool, it provides an efficient way to collect, analyze, and utilize data from every shopper, product, and marketing effort you make. Give yourself a boost above the competition. You may not hit the Top 10 list in 2025, but you will give yourself the power to improve and build a brand worth remembering.