As per the annual BrandZ ranking by British multinational advertising and public relations company WPP and its data analytics unit Kantar, Amazon has almost doubled its brand value to $316 billion. Alibaba emerged as the second most valuable retail brand. The value of Amazon brand increased by 91 per cent, while Alibaba's rose by 48 per cent to $131 billion. The ranking combines financial performance with consumer surveys in more than 50 countries, according to global newswires.

Both Alibaba and Amazon are growing partly because of their activity outside retailing. Alibaba took second place from McDonald's even though the brand value of the world's biggest fast food chain grew 18 per cent to $130 billion as it offered healthier menus and more environmentally friendly packaging. Rising environmental concerns about fast fashion have weighed on the brand values of Inditex's Zara, which declined by 10 per cent to $23 billion, and H&M, which declined by 39 per cent to $6.4 billion.