Amazon has been hard to catch for decades, but Walmart’s market share and ecommerce gains cannot go unnoticed.
Amazon vs. Walmart key takeaways:
While Walmart’s market share has been steadily increasing, Amazon remains the dominant force in ecommerce. However, the combined market share growth of these top two retailers has led to a decline in market share for other Top 2000 online retailers in North America.
In 2017, Amazon held a 36.4% share of the Top 2000 North American online retailers. Today, it’s projected to reach 39.7%. Meanwhile, Walmart’s share has more than doubled, from 4.4% to a projected 10.6%.
Combined, these two giants now account for over 50% of all global online sales within the Top 2000.
Despite Walmart’s growth in U.S. ecommerce market share, Amazon’s expansion has been even more substantial. From 2019 to 2023, Amazon’s U.S. ecommerce sales increased by nearly $142 billion, compared to Walmart’s growth of $55 billion.
In 2018, Amazon’s online penetration was at 77.2%, while Walmart’s online penetration was 4.9%. By the end of 2023, Amazon’s online penetration was down to 71.7% while Walmart’s online penetration had reached an all-time high at 15.4%.
In recent years, Amazon and Walmart have solidified their dominance in both physical and online retail. Amazon, the undisputed leader in U.S. e-commerce, faces growing competition from Walmart, whose e-commerce growth has surged over the last seven years. As a result, these two retail giants now collectively command more than 50% of the global online market share among the top 2000 North American retailers. This shift marks a significant milestone, highlighting the evolving landscape of e-commerce as Walmart continues to challenge Amazon’s reign.
Amazon and Walmart have dramatically reshaped the U.S. retail landscape in recent years. While Amazon has maintained its dominant position, Walmart’s ecommerce surge has been equally impressive. In 2017, Amazon held a 36.4% share of the Top 2000 North American online retailers’ sales. Today, Digital Commerce 360 projects it will reach 39.7% in 2024. Meanwhile, Walmart’s share has skyrocketed from 4.4% to a projected 10.6%. Combined, these two giants now account for over 50% of all global online sales within the Top 2000, solidifying their status as the leading forces in ecommerce. Still, even though these two companies bring in more than half of North America’s online sales, Amazon’s share of sales as No. 1 remains about 3.75 times larger than the share Walmart holds.
Walmart’s ecommerce growth in the U.S. has been nothing short of remarkable. In just a few years, its domestic online sales have surged from $27 billion in 2019 to $82 billion by the end of 2023. This represents a substantial increase from 68% to 82% of Walmart’s global ecommerce operations. Meanwhile, Amazon’s U.S. ecommerce share has remained relatively stable, increasing only slightly from 66% in 2019 to 69% in 2023. Despite Walmart’s impressive growth in U.S. ecommerce market share, Amazon’s expansion has been even more substantial. During the same period (2019-2023), Amazon’s U.S. ecommerce sales increased by nearly $142 billion, compared to Walmart’s growth of $55 billion.
