eCommerce: Amazon Competitors

Amazon Competitor Analysis: Key Insights

• Amazon's Dominance: Amazon remains the top player in global eCommerce with a GMV of US$693 billion in 2022, showing its vast reach in online retail.

• China's Contenders: Taobao, Tmall, and JD.com, all based in China, are Amazon's strongest competitors, with Taobao leading at a GMV of US$617 billion.

• Growth Leaders: Pinduoduo stands out with the highest annual growth rate of 43%, highlighting rapid expansion within the Chinese market.

• U.S. Rivalry: In the United States, Walmart poses the most significant competition to Amazon, despite a significant gap in their market shares.

• Strategic Expansion: Amazon continues to expand its global presence, entering new markets with notable growth rates in domains like amazon.eg (54%) and amazon.pl (43%).

Amazon has long been a front runner in eCommerce. It dominated the global eCommerce market in 2022, with the highest global GMV of US$693 billion.

GMV encompasses all sales, including taxes, shipping fees, and additional charges, before accounting for discounts or returns. This competitor analysis is based on GMV for the top marketplaces in 2022 by ECDB.

But our data shows that Amazon is not the only big player in the global online retail market. Which companies challenge Amazon in key world economies? We bring you a data-driven analysis of Amazon's competitors.

Competitor Analysis for Amazon by GMV

Amazon, Taobao, Tmall, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Kwai Shop, Walmart, Shopee, eBay, and Coupang are the top ten marketplaces in the world. They operate in various sectors such as electronics, fashion, and more. With their market presence and global reach, they have carved a place in the eCommerce industry.

Although numerous companies have taken up the challenge of competing with Amazon, the top three marketplace competitors to Amazon in terms of GMV all originate in China: Taobao, Tmall, and JD.com. These marketplaces possess distinctive selling propositions that differentiate them from Amazon.

• Taobao, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding, is China's biggest marketplace on a global scale. It has an impressive Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of US$617 billion. Notably, this figure is not solely from China: 7.1% of Taobao's share, or about US$44 billion, comes from other countries such as the United States, South Korea, and Japan. In recent years, Taobao has expanded its reach beyond China. It now has users in over 60 countries and regions and is increasingly becoming a global platform for eCommerce. In China itself, Taobao's GMV is US$573 billion, placing it at the top of the rank, ahead of JD.com and Tmall.

• Tmall, also part of Alibaba Group Holding, follows Taobao with a global GMV of US$597 billion. Around 5.5% of its share comes from other countries including the United States, Singapore, and South Korea. It ranks third by GMV in China.

• JD.com, with a global GMV of US$570 billion, ranks fourth globally. Only 0.5% of JD.com's income comes from other countries. Thus, with 99.5% of its GMV generated in China, it ranks second in the country.

The differences in GMV might be attributed to the types of products and services offered by these platforms. Tmall, for example, offers higher-end products alongside everyday items. JD.com, on the other hand, is known for its fast delivery services, supported by its own warehouse infrastructure. These factors contribute to their respective positions in the Chinese eCommerce market.

Top 5 Global Marketplaces Ranked by GMV

Below, we provide the top five ranking marketplaces, ranked by their global Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) in 2022. We also mention their growth rates, main country of operation, and main product category.

1. Amazon Inc. (US$693 billion) has the highest GMV, with an annual growth rate (2022) of 6%. Predominantly serving the United States (51.1%), their main product category is Hobby & Leisure (37.1%).

2. Taobao (US$617 billion) has the second highest global GMV, despite having a slower annual growth rate (0.3%). Serving the Greater China region (92.9%), its main product category is Fashion (35%).

3. Tmall (US$597 billion), another Alibaba Group entity, comes in third. It has a similar annual growth rate (0.3%) to Taobao's and primarily caters to consumers in Greater China (94.5%), with its main product category being Care Products (41%).

4. JD.com (US$570 billion) has the fourth position, with a robust growth rate of 11.5%. It also operates mainly in Greater China (99.5%) and specializes in Electronics (45%).

5. Pinduoduo (US$541 billion) has the fifth position, with a staggering annual growth rate of 43%. Exclusively serving consumers in Greater China (100.0%), its main product category is Fashion (56%).

Several smaller marketplaces are also making their presence felt in the eCommerce arena, including Flipkart (part of Walmart, Inc.), MercadoLibre, and Rakuten. Though they have carved out a niche by offering unique services and products, they have still not broken into the top rank of online marketplaces.

Who are Amazon's Biggest Competitors?

While Amazon prevails as the top marketplace in many regions of the world, some prominent rivals pose a challenge to Amazon's ascendancy in different eCommerce markets.

In the global eCommerce arena, China's Alibaba Group emerges as Amazon's biggest competitor. It majorly dampened Amazon’s ambitions to expand in what is the world’s leading eCommerce market .

While Amazon still maintains a larger global market share, the presence of Alibaba-owned marketplaces is rapidly expanding, particularly in the Greater China region. Collectively, they outpace Amazon by a considerable margin in the massive Chinese consumer market.

Alibaba operates three major retail subsidiaries: Taobao, Tmall, and AliExpress. Each of these subsidiaries competes in its unique way.

For example, Taobao Marketplace, a C2C ecommerce platform, enables small businesses and individual entrepreneurs to open online stores that cater to consumers in Chinese-speaking regions and abroad. Sellers on Taobao offer a wide variety of products, from clothing and electronics to home goods and food. Payments are made through online accounts.

Taobao is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms in the world, with over 1 billion product listings. A major driver of economic growth in China, it has also helped create millions of jobs. On the other hand, Tmall, a B2C company, offers lower prices on clothing accessories and computers than Amazon.

Marketplaces in China:
Pinduoduo Grows Rapidly

Apart from Taobao, Tmall, and JD.com, another marketplace called Pinduoduo has seen a rapid rise in popularity in China’s eCommerce landscape. Pinduoduo is a Chinese eCommerce giant that has seen tremendous growth in recent years. In 2022 alone, it achieved a remarkable annual growth rate of 43%.

Exclusively serving the Greater China region, Pinduoduo’s main product category is Fashion, which accounts for over half of its global GMV of US$541 billion. The company also stands out for its innovative mobile-centric approach. Moreover, it has launched a highly engaging shopping model customized to the social context of Chinese buyers, including community group buying.

Competition in the U.S: Amazon vs. Walmart

While Alibaba offers stiff competition to Amazon at the global stage and in China, within the United States, Amazon faces another worthy opponent: Walmart Inc., which operates its own marketplace.

Walmart is one of the few major Amazon competitors left standing on the American continent. However, its market share has been decreasing in recent years due to the rapidly changing market dynamics. Walmart's global GMV of US$121 billion is significantly lower than that of Amazon. In the U.S., it stands second with its GMV being US$110 billion, far behind Amazon's GMV of US$354 billion.

In 2022, Amazon.com, Inc. and Walmart, Inc. were the giants of the eCommerce scene in the United States, holding 37% and 12% of the market share, respectively. Other key players in the eCommerce industry included Apple, Inc., eBay, Inc., Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd., Target Corporation, The Home Depot, Inc., Best Buy Co., Inc., Roadget Business Pte., Ltd., and The Kroger Co.

However, according to data from Fortune 500, Walmart is still king when it comes to total company revenue in 2023. This demonstrates the enduring strength of brick-and-mortar retail on the American continent. At the same time, the transition to ecommerce is undeniable. Hence, it is imperative for retailer chains like Walmart to adopt strategies for digital consumers and place a greater focus on eCommerce.

Marketplaces in the UK:
Amazon Leads, eBay Second

In the UK, Amazon competes against several marketplaces that are nonetheless behind it in terms of GMV.

Amazon's GMV in the UK in 2022 is US$59.5 billion. At the second position is eBay; however, with a GMV of US$10.5 billion, it is much behind Amazon. Its category of focus is Hobby & Leisure.

Etsy, specializing in Fashion, trails further behind with a much smaller GMV of US$1.2 billion. Next is Tmall, part of Alibaba Group and concentrating on Care Products. It is also a competitor in the UK and generated a GMV of US$1.1 billion in 2022.

Lastly, Wayfair, with its emphasis on Furniture and Homeware, comes in at the fifth spot with a GMV of US$0.9 billion. Together, these companies form a multifaceted rivalry against Amazon in the UK market.

Amazon’s Strategies: Marketplace, Ads, Prime, Prime Day & Partnerships

Amazon consolidates its success through a multi-pronged approach to retain existing consumers while also focusing on new markets.

Amazon marketplace allows third party sellers' product listings in Amazon's online marketplace to be displayed. It is integrated into the Amazon shopping experience, but the majority of sales go to the retailer rather than Amazon. Sellers have the option to sell new items on the marketplace.

One of Amazon's greatest strengths is its vast online sales network. The company offers a wide range of services and products to customers – from books to apparel to electronics – from a diverse array of sellers.

Amazon also offers competitive prices and a convenient shopping experience, making it one of the most comprehensive eCommerce marketplaces. This convenience allows customers to purchase items from a variety of retailers, eliminating the need for separate shopping trips, in-store or online.

Amazon Boosts Its Advertising Spend

Amazon is aware of the strong loyalty that consumers have for their preferred marketplaces. The company is capitalizing on this consumer behavior by spending heavily on advertising to reach a wider audience and increase its presence across the world.

In 2022, Amazon's annual ad spend worldwide was over US$20 billion, per the company's sources, making it one of the leading digital advertising networks globally. Its ad expenses more than doubled compared to 2018, when the company spent a comparatively smaller US$8.2 billion on promotional activities. The figure is also considerably higher than companies such as Alibaba, which spent US$3.1 billion on ads and promotional activities, and eBay, which spent an even more modest US$1.2 billion on ads in 2022.

Company ads are often displayed on product pages and in search results. They are designed to encourage consumers to buy products from Amazon, even if they are not already familiar with the company.

Amazon has been particularly successful at leveraging native ads on its platform to entice customers. Native ads are those that blend in with the natural content of a website and are used by Amazon to provide personalized product recommendations for their customers. This strategy has proven to be quite successful, as it allows Amazon to gain greater control over digital ad revenue channels.

Amazon Prime: Subscriptions & Benefits

Amazon Prime is the company's subscription-based premium program which offers exclusive benefits to its members.

These include access to free two-day shipping on Amazon purchases, as well as streaming video services such as Amazon Prime Video and Twitch Prime. The program also offers exclusive discounts on certain items, early access to deals, and more.

Prime's two-day shipping and same-day delivery options make purchasing online even more attractive and efficient for online shoppers. It has been a major success for Amazon, as it encourages customers to make more frequent purchases and increases loyalty. The subscription fee is low compared to the potential benefits of the program.

Additionally, Amazon Prime can be used to purchase physical products or digital content from the company and its partners. This allows customers to access a wide range of services that would otherwise cost more money.

Prime Day: Amazon's Mega Shopping Event

Prime Day is an annual two-day shopping event hosted by Amazon. It is exclusive to Prime members, who can access a wide variety of deals and discounts on a variety of products. Prime Day typically takes place in July, and it is one of the biggest shopping events of the year.

Amazon Prime Day 2023 was a huge success, registering record global sales of over US$20 billion. This represents a 6.1% nominal increase over the previous year. This is a notable success for Amazon, considering that this year's economic climate is still characterized by challenges related to inflationary pressures.

Overall, Amazon Prime Day 2023 was a successful event for Amazon and its customers. The event helped boost sales and traffic to Amazon's website, and it also gave consumers a chance to save money on a wide variety of products.

China counters Black Friday, Prime Day, and Cyber Monday with its own approach to online retail events: Singles' Day. As the world's largest online discount event, Singles' Day has seen significant sales growth for major retailers like Alibaba and JD.com. The event, which even surpasses U.S. Cyber Monday, was extended to eleven days in 2021. In that year, Alibaba made US$84.5 billion from the event. However, both Alibaba and JD.com chose to withhold sales numbers and GMV figures for the 2022-2023 period.

Amazon Enters New Markets:
New Online Stores

In recent years, Amazon has entered several new markets, including Saudi Arabia in 2020 (amazon.sa), Poland (amazon.pl) and Egypt (amazon.eg) in 2021, and Belgium (amazon.com.be) in 2022.

As per our analysis, the Egyptian domain (amazon.eg) led with an impressive 54% growth rate, demonstrating Amazon's successful penetration and acceptance in Egypt. Following closely was Poland's amazon.pl, which experienced a 43% increase.

Belgium's amazon.com.be also showed significant progress with a 34% growth, while the Saudi Arabian domain (amazon.sa) and the Australian domain (amazon.com.au) both recorded a 23% growth rate.

Learn More About Our Marketplace Rankings

Amazon’s Partnerships:
Amazon Collaborates with Rivian

Amazon and Rivian have teamed up to introduce custom electric delivery vehicles in the U.S. Thus far, Amazon has rolled out 10,000 electric vans to deliver packages to its customers in 1,800 cities in the United States alone. This is part of Amazon's plan to have 100,000 electric vehicles by 2030.

The vehicles are designed with safety, sustainability, and comfort in mind, and are a significant step towards reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. This collaboration between Amazon and Rivian is driving innovation in last-mile logistics and paving the way for a more sustainable future in the delivery industry.

Concluding Remarks

Amazon is a leader in eCommerce and is the marketplace of choice in key markets such as the United States and the UK. However, Alibaba has emerged as a notable competitor to Amazon. Through its subsidiaries Taobao and Tmall, which have the second- and third-highest global GMVs, Alibaba has maintained an unbreakable hold over China, which remains the world's largest eCommerce market.

Nonetheless, Amazon continues to strengthen its position through various strategies. Its marketplace model makes it a one-stop eCommerce solution for both sellers and consumers. Its considerable ad spend helps it target new consumers and enhances its online visibility. New services such as Prime subscription and Prime Day shopping events are uniquely customer centric. Amazon also keeps pushing forward, tapping the wealth of potential in diverse markets, thus demonstrating a continued relevance in the eCommerce industry.