With the 2018 holiday season hitting records, let’s look at the standing of the major online retailers. As our title suggests, who is number three in E-commerce is an interesting question. But as we discuss shortly, does it matter?
New Answer to Who Is Number Three in E-Commerce
A large part of the increased 2018 holiday spending came from the E-commerce sector. And the overwhelming leader among retailers remains Amazon. Yet, there is a recent change at the top of the online retailer scoreboard. But, does this really matter?
“Walmart will overtake Apple to become the third largest ecommerce retailer in the U.S. By the end of 2018, Walmart (which includes Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Jet.com) will capture 4.0% of all online retail spending in the U.S.. Totaling $20.91 billion. In our July forecast, we estimated that Walmart would capture a 3.7% share this year. Today, Walmart has one of the fastest-growing ecommerce businesses. This year, its online sales will grow 39.4%. Wayfair, an online-only retailer, beats it slightly with a 40.1% growth rate. Meanwhile, Apple will grow just over 18% this year—less than last year— as domestic sales of smartphones and other consumer electronic devices begin to slow down. Its ecommerce share will remain virtually unchanged at 3.9%.”
“Walmart’s E-commerce business has been firing on all cylinders lately,” said eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman. “The retail giant continues to make smart acquisitions to extend its Ecommerce portfolio and attract younger and more affluent shoppers. But more than anything, Walmart has caught its stride with a fast-growing online grocery business. And that is helped in large part by the massive consumer adoption of click-and-collect. As fast as Walmart’s E-commerce business is growing, it still pales in comparison to Amazon. This year, the online giant will take in more than $252.10 billion domestically, up just over 29% from 2017. That’s a whopping 48.0% share of US E-commerce.”
Re-read the last sentence again. It clearly indicates Amazon’s continuing strength. For 2018, Amazon’s online market share will be almost TRIPLE THE NEXT FOUR RETAILERS COMBINED.
