Online retailers face mounting challenges figuring out how to increase conversion rates in 2025 — but two of the industry’s leaders, Amazon and Walmart, can claim some of the best results overall.
New data shows them outperforming not just other retailers, but other brands in entertainment and consumer packaged goods when it comes to purchase intent. Amazon and Walmart showed up at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in March rankings released by the research firm YouGov.
The report’s authors scored brands based on how likely consumers were to consider purchasing from a brand once they knew about it, as well as how likely those consumers were to intend to make a purchase when considering. The retail giants topped lists in both scenarios.
So what does Amazon do to come out ahead?
Amazon vs. Walmart in online conversion
In assessing which companies are most persuasive, YouGov compared survey results for more than 2,000 brands, including Amazon and Walmart, across industries. It found both of their conversion rates to be dramatically higher than their associated industry average, which it estimated to be 12%. Amazon’s consideration conversion rate, which is consumers’ rate of purchase intent divided by rate of consideration, stood at 77%. Meanwhile, Walmart achieved a rate of 60%.
On YouGov’s list of top brands ranked by how well they outperformed their industry cohorts, Amazon Prime also appeared at No. 3 with 55%. In addition, Walmart+ showed up at No. 20 with 30%. Other online retailers in the top 20 included:
Among brands from whom consumers would at least consider making a purchase, Amazon (with 84%) and Walmart (66%) were joined in the report’s top 20 by Home Depot (at No. 12 with 49%) and Lowe’s (at No. 19 with 47%).
What Amazon is doing to boost conversion
Digital Commerce 360’s Ecommerce Conversion Report in 2024 broke down how online retailers were increasing conversion rates. In light of those findings, it’s not hard to see why Amazon, as well as Walmart, are staying so far ahead of their competition.
First, both retailers offer omnichannel options, through buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), as well as delivery. Walmart’s footprint through physical stores strengthens its capabilities in this area. Meanwhile, Amazon’s fulfillment centers, lockers and Whole Foods locations work to its benefit.
Personalization has also been a major priority, with Amazon’s new Interests feature for discovery debuting in March during its Big Spring Sale event. Moreover, the company has agentic commerce ambitions it will pursue through its Alexa+ features, where it can extend its reach for orders.
Importantly, both Amazon and Walmart also have rich sets of first-party data to reference when crafting their personalized experiences. The fact that their paid Prime and Walmart+ membership programs — which leverage and benefit from that data — also ranked high in YouGov’s report underscores the vital roles that those operations play.
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