Retail & Consumer
7 industries · 91 businesses scored · Rank 4 of 11
Retail and Consumer sits at the top of the sector rankings with a composite of 66.3, more than two points above the national average. This is not surprising. Australian retail has been through a forced digital acceleration since 2020 and the businesses that survived are, on average, more digitally mature than most of the economy. Digital Maturity leads at 68.5 and Acquisition Performance follows at 67.3, both comfortably above the national line.
The spread within this sector tells the real story. Omnichannel and bricks-and-clicks retailers score 70.8, sitting in Strong territory. Marketplace sellers on Amazon AU, eBay and Catch score 62.8. That is an 8-point gap between two verticals in the same sector, separated by one thing: who owns the customer relationship. Marketplace sellers rent their audience. Omnichannel retailers build theirs.
Data and Tracking at 59.2 is the sector's weakest dimension and its biggest ceiling. Most retailers collect transaction data but few connect it to acquisition spend in a way that drives decisions. The retailers closing that gap are the ones pulling away from the pack.
The 8-point gap between omnichannel retailers (70.8) and marketplace sellers (62.8) is the largest intra-sector spread in Retail. Owning the customer relationship is worth roughly 8 composite points.
Dimension breakdown
Retail & Consumer leads on Acquisition Performance (66.2, +3.3 vs national) and has the most room to move in Brand & Positioning (63.6, -0.6 vs national).
Industries in Retail & Consumer
Dimension breakdown by industry
Each row is one industry. Each bar shows its score on that dimension. The dashed line marks the sector average.
Does bigger mean better?
Average score by industry and company scale
| Industry | Enterprise | Large | Medium | Small Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omnichannel & Bricks-and-Clicks Retail | 73.5 8 businesses | 79.6 2 businesses | 69.7 2 businesses | 61 3 businesses |
| Ecommerce — D2C Retail | 73.9 2 businesses | 77.3 3 businesses | 71 4 businesses | 54.5 3 businesses |
| Wine & Spirits Retail | 73.7 2 businesses | 76.3 3 businesses | 66.8 3 businesses | 52.6 3 businesses |
| Franchise Systems | — | — | — | — |
| Fashion & Apparel | 69.2 2 businesses | 71.4 2 businesses | 65.6 4 businesses | 57.4 2 businesses |
| Marketplace Sellers (Amazon AU, eBay, Catch) | 75.2 1 biz | 78.7 2 businesses | 58.9 4 businesses | 48.5 2 businesses |
| Pet Industry (Vet Clinics, Pet Products, Services) | — | 70.2 3 businesses | 56.2 4 businesses | 50.2 2 businesses |
Inside each industry
Every scored business, grouped by industry. Taller bars mean higher scores.
See where you stand
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What to watch in Australian retail
First-party data is becoming the competitive moat. As third-party cookies phase out and platform ad costs climb, the retailers with clean CRM data and email lists will outperform those relying on marketplace traffic. This favours D2C and omnichannel operators.
Franchise systems at 69.2 are quietly outperforming most standalone retailers. Centralised marketing budgets, shared data infrastructure and national brand campaigns give franchise operators scale advantages that independent retailers cannot match alone.
What the numbers reveal
Based on 91 scored businesses across 7 industries. Updated as new audits complete.
16.9-point gap between Enterprise and Small Business
Enterprise businesses average 70.9. Small Business averages 54. Scale creates a 16.9-point advantage in this sector, driven by dedicated marketing teams and infrastructure investment.
ASX-listed companies score 6.2 points higher than unlisted
29 ASX-listed businesses average 70.5 vs 64.3 for 62 unlisted. Public reporting discipline and larger budgets correlate with stronger marketing maturity.
Digital Maturity (67.5) is the sector's edge. Data & Tracking (57.4) is the drag.
A 10.1-point spread between the strongest and weakest dimensions. Digital Maturity is 1.5 points above the national average. Data & Tracking sits 0.2 points below national average.
1.6 points above the national average of 63.7
Retail & Consumer ranks 4 of 11 sectors. The gap is closeable. These are not structurally weak businesses. They are businesses that have not prioritised digital marketing.
NSW dominates with 38 of 91 businesses
42% of scored businesses in this sector are headquartered in NSW, averaging 66. VIC (36), QLD (11), WA (5) follow.
Bunnings Warehouse leads the sector at 81.1
15.9 points above the sector average. Scores 10.4 points above its own industry (Omnichannel & Bricks-and-Clicks Retail). Large scale, based in VIC.
What people ask about this sector
Top performers in Retail & Consumer
Highest-scoring businesses across all retail & consumer industries
Sector rankings
How does your business compare?
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