A third Australian firm is keeping Woolworths and Wesfarmers company in a global ranking of top retailers.

Key points: JB Hi-Fi now among world's 250 largest retailers by revenue

JB Hi-Fi now among world's 250 largest retailers by revenue Continued growth, purchasing The Good Guys likely reasons for the first appearance in rankings

Continued growth, purchasing The Good Guys likely reasons for the first appearance in rankings 38 of top 250 retailers now operating in Australia

Electronics chain JB Hi-Fi is now among the 250 largest retailers by revenue globally, according to the annual Global Powers of Retailing report from Deloitte.

JB Hi-Fi made its first appearance on the list in 218th spot.

Coles and Bunnings owner Wesfarmers was in 21st position, while Woolworths came in at 23rd.

Deloitte's national leader of retail, wholesale and distribution, David White, thinks two factors drove JB Hi-Fi's jump into the ranking.

"First is the great continued growth they've had over the last few years," he said.

"They've also bought The Good Guys business and that's probably added around about $1 billion in sales in 2017."

Globally, Wal-Mart retained its position at the top of the list. Amazon leapt to sixth spot, from 10th last year.

International entrants to increase competition

Thirty-eight of the top 250 global retailers are now operating in Australia.

Of those businesses, 45 per cent are headquartered in the US, with Costco and Amazon the biggest, while apparel and footwear retailers remained the largest category.

The categories of the world's top 250 retailers operating in Australia. (Supplied: Deloitte)

"What we are seeing is a lot more competition, not necessarily just from the top 250. The retailers underneath there are coming in," Mr White said.

"The ones that are already here or came in over the last two or three years, they are now starting to get a foothold and that's really driving a lot more competition in the market here."

While Amazon's arrival has not made the initial splash some were expecting, Deloitte expects it will be one to watch in the year ahead.

Mr White thinks another international competitor could also be around the corner.

"With all the speculation around Amazon, some commentators have missed the fact that there is quite a lot of speculation about Lidl entering the market," he said.

"They've acquired a couple of sites, they're certainly looking at people."

Lidl is a German discount grocer owned by The Schwarz Group and it is increasing its market share in the UK.

"They're ferocious around price and what they actually offer and that's had a huge impact," Mr White warned.

Fellow German chain Aldi is already competing with Australian supermarkets.

It came in at eighth position in the Deloitte ranking.

'Bricks versus clicks'

Over the year ahead, Deloitte expects retailers to move away from a "bricks versus clicks" mentality and bring new technology in store as well as online.

"90 per cent of sales are made globally through bricks and mortar stores," said David White.

"Retailers should be investing in that experience and use of technologies in those stores, because a lot of transactions still take place there."

For Australia's embattled department store sector, that could mean looking abroad for inspiration.

"When you look overseas … there's some fantastic operators in the department store space," said Mr White.

"Ultimately, it does come down to the experience and that's what you're looking for when you go into one of these stores.

"We've seen a lot of investment over the last two or three years, I think there's a lot more to come."

'No free kicks' in retail sector

Towards the end of last year, retailers, including JB Hi-Fi, enjoyed the boost of one-off factors including iPhone X sales.

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"Every year there's always a one-off and I think they're really just the norm," Mr White said.

"The trick is being able to take advantage of the changes that are happening in the market … it is by no means a free kick, and the best retailers, both in Australia and globally are really thinking six to 12 months ahead."

Stagnant wages growth could remain a dampener on retail this year despite strong jobs growth, with some economists expecting it to hold back consumer spending.

"That is one of the unknowns as we go through 2018 and that will have an impact overall in the market if we don't see a bit of inflation creep through," Mr White said.