No matter how you slice it, Amazon is the largest online retailer in the U.S.
Amazon’s ecommerce statistics speak for themselves. However, these numbers get more interesting when you look at Amazon vs. Walmart in key areas and Amazon vs. Alibaba Group worldwide. These two Amazon competitors in particular highlight key areas where the ecommerce giant is staying ahead, but also where it still lags.
For starters, take a look at Amazon’s rankings in two Digital Commerce 360 databases. Amazon.com ranks No. 1 in the Top 2000 Database. That database is how Digital Commerce 360 tracks the largest North American online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales. Amazon holds that spot above Walmart, which ranks No. 2.
In addition, Amazon is No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database, where it appears below No. 1 Taobao and No. 2 Tmall. That database ranks the 100 largest global marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).
Why Amazon is the largest online retailer in the U.S., ahead of Walmart
Amazon’s lead in front of Walmart among online retailers in the U.S. and North America remains substantial. While Digital Commerce 360 estimates that Amazon’s total web sales in 2024 reached $448.64 billion, Walmart did less than a third of that at $123.20 billion. Make no mistake. These two Mass Merchant retailers both tower above their competition. But Amazon holds a commanding lead.
In 2025, Amazon stands poised to eclipse Walmart with another important metric as well: quarterly revenue. In Amazon’s Q4 2024 earnings, the company grew its sales by 10% year over year to reach $187.8 billion. As Walmart prepares to announce earnings for its comparable fiscal quarter on Feb. 20, some analysts anticipate that it will mark the first time that Walmart’s quarterly revenue fails to outperform Amazon’s total. That milestone could underscore the increasing role that ecommerce plays for retail, along with Amazon’s success through other revenue generators, including AWS and advertising.
Amazon vs. Walmart quarterly revenue
Meanwhile, in ecommerce, Amazon is still finding ways to remain competitive on price. During the company’s most recent earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy cited a third-party report that found Amazon offering lower prices than competitors — including Walmart, Best Buy and Target — for the eighth straight year going into the 2024 holiday shopping season.
Amazon vs. Alibaba Group
Ultimately, Amazon’s claim to being the largest online retailer in the world comes with two caveats: The status requires the exclusion of online marketplaces and companies selling to businesses (B2B) — most notably Alibaba Group.
China-based Alibaba announced in November 2024 that it would combine all of its domestic and international ecommerce businesses under one roof as the Alibaba E-Commerce Business Group. Those individual units include the B2B-focused marketplace Alibaba.com, as well as Taobao.com and Tmall.com, which are the world’s two largest online retail marketplaces. Digital Commerce 360 estimates that the combined third-party gross merchandise volume (GMV) for Taobao and Tmall in 2024 was almost $1.48 trillion. Despite Amazon’s reported 11% increase year over year in total sales, which reached $638.0 billion in 2024, Alibaba still holds a stronger position globally.
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