• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 30, 2010

When it comes to global brand value, Walmart continues to be the most powerful retailer, with its brand valued at $30.42 billion. But a new ranking from Kantar Retail and BrandZ reflects some seismic shifts in consumer spending in the last year: While the category as a whole shrank, Amazon shot into the No. 2 spot like a meteor, with a brand value of $27.45 billion -- a 359% increase since 2006, when it was ranked No. 8.  

This year alone, its brand value jumped 29%, demonstrating not just how important e-commerce has become to shoppers, "but that the company is unbelievably smart in its branding efforts," David Roth, CEO of The Store, WPP's retail practice, tells Marketing Daily . "There isn't a single retailer out there who can't learn something from Amazon's successes."

In contrast, 13 of the top 20 saw their brand values decline. No. 1-ranked Walmart's global brand value fell 4%, No. 5 Target's fell 1%, and No. 6 eBay plunged 28%, which Roth attributes to more powerful search engines making it easier to circumvent auctions and still find the best prices. Some, Roth says, are directly attributable to the economy, including Ikea (ranked No. 12, with a 15% decline in brand value) and the Home Depot (ranked seventh, with a decline of 3%.)

Costco was another big loser, falling three spots to No. 17, with brand value declining 26%. "One of the coping mechanisms of the recession was for consumers to not put themselves in temptation's way, and Costco is one of those places where it's easy to run in for a few things, and come out with a whole cartload of stuff you didn't mean to buy," Roth says.

Still, the recession boosted some brands: A worldwide interest in private labels propelled Aldi into the No. 8 spot, with Kohl's brand value gaining 12%. And some chains -- such as Best Buy -- seemed to have effectively merchandised their way around the downturn.

What impressed Roth most, however, is that the group's total brand value declined just 1%. "It could have been a lot worse," he says. "And I think that's a testament to the fast ways retailers have reacted during the recession. It really shows the importance of the brand. In a world where prices and products are becoming more similar, that intangible retail brand is increasingly becoming the key difference."

Called "The Top 20 Most Valuable Global Retail Brands," the report combines retailer and shopper insights from Kantar Retail with the definitive Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking produced annually by Millward Brown Optimor, powered by the BrandZ database. (Like The Store, all are owned by WPP.)