In the wake of the pandemic-era direct-to-consumer resurgence, retailers have staged quite the comeback. For fashion, lifestyle and beauty brands, retailers serve as key strategic partners (not just points of sale) in “driving brand growth, visibility and conversion,” according to a new Launchmetrics report on maximizing retail partnerships. The opportunity for brands to bolster their consumer base is clear: In the first half of 2025 alone, retailers generated more than $1.1 billion media impact value (MIV) for their partner brands, Launchmetrics found.

“The most forward-thinking brands should no longer see retailers as mere points of sale — they must treat them as strategic partners for growth,” Alison Bringé, Launchmetrics’ chief marketing officer, told Fashionista over email. “Yet many brands miss the full picture, lacking the insight to quantify the value these partnerships create. Each retailer has a distinct Voice and channel strategy, and aligning with the right one depends on your business goals.”

Thanks to global economic uncertainty and tariff chaos, a multi-industry slowdown has rocked many companies from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2025. However, studying performance over the past three years offers a brighter picture: The top 50 retailers across the U.S. and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) have shown 66% growth in MIV. But which retailers are driving the most impact for their brand partners?

Sephora took the gold as the top retailer in the fashion, lifestyle and beauty space with $1.2 billion MIV. Walmart followed close behind at $1.06 billion MIV, and Ulta Beauty came in third place with $401 million MIV. Asos ($224 million MIV), Nordstrom ($215 million MIV) and Amazon Fashion ($162 million MIV) rounded out the top six. Sephora overtaking Walmart as the top retailer signifies beauty’s growing presence in the market, and coincides with Sephora’s buzzy brand partnerships with Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, K-beauty favorite Beauty of Joseon and Salish Matter’s teen skin-care brand Sincerely Yours.

Launchmetrics also ranked the fastest-growing retailers year-over-year defying industry-wide slowdowns: Amazon Beauty grew 171.77%, Sports Direct grew 90.25% and Bluemercury grew 39.06%. Other retailers building cultural relevance include Nocibé (30.19%), Space NK (24.01%) and Harrods (16.34%).

To help brands gauge the impact of their retail partnerships, Launchmetrics determined industry benchmarks for the average total MIV from all retail partners for a single brand: Fashion’s total was $5.8 million MIV, sportswear’s was $5.3 million MIV and beauty’s was $4.5 million MIV. Broken down by placement, sportswear ranked highest with $4,200 MIV per placement, followed by beauty ($4,000 MIV) and fashion ($2,800 MIV).

Determining a retailer’s channel strategy helps brands secure the right partnership, as retailers utilize a varying mix of channels (print, social, online) and voices (celebrities, influencers, media, owned media, partners) to drive visibility. Nordstrom sees 70% of its impact from online media, which suggests a strong editorial presence. But in today’s digital age, a majority of top retailers including Sephora, Ulta, Asos, Amazon Fashion and Walmart all prioritize social channels.

Unsurprisingly, TikTok reigns supreme as the fastest-rising platform among retailers, growing 28.25% between S1 2024 and 2025. Sephora comes out on top as TikTok’s top retailer by MIV, raking in $359 million MIV. Despite TikTok’s continued chokehold on the fashion and beauty industries, Instagram remains the top social channel performer with $1.6 billion MIV.

For brands seeking a high-impact retail partnership, look to industry success stories: “Our report found that one retailer delivers, on average, 25% more value from their content than their brands would achieve on their own, proving that strategic alignment isn’t just good business — it’s an advantage,” Bringé said.

The retailer in question is Space NK, a British beauty destination named the fastest-growing multi-brand retailer in its industry. (This is good news for Ulta Beauty, which acquired the retailer in July 2025 as part of its aim to expand its presence in the U.K.) Its strategy focuses on blending “thoughtful curation with brand-building activations,” the report reads, which has helped solidify Space NK as a launchpad for beauty brands. As Bringé noted, Space NK’s partners often see impressive visibility that surpasses their owned media placements. For example, Summer Fridays gained 99% more MIV from Space NK’s posts than from posts on its own channel, while Rare Beauty earned 36% more MIV.

When approached with a strategic mindset, fostering a strong retail partnership can boost brand visibility and spur overall growth, resulting in a symbiotic relationship between retailers and brands. According to the report, “unlocking the full potential of retail partnerships starts with understanding where real impact comes from.”

Read the full Launchmetrics report here.

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