While Amazon has been a powerhouse in the e-commerce market for years, a recent article published by Digital Commerce 360 outlines the extent of the Internet giant’s reach. The article reveals that in 2016, Amazon-owned sites accounted for 43 percent of all online sales within the U.S., followed by a report from Slice Intelligence that discovered more than half of e-commerce growth in the U.S. could be attributed to Amazon.
It is incredibly rare for one company to hold 40 percent market share of any retailing segment. To compare, retail giant Walmart has consistently held only 9 percent of the market share for U.S. retail sales since 2012. About 18 percent of Amazon’s growth is accounted under “electronics & accessories” and 19 percent for “other.” The growth stems from a number of in-house developments and acquisitions of other companies. The amount of Echo devices with the Alexa digital assistant sold to shoppers increased by 173 percent from this time last year. Amazon also recently acquired Whole Foods and launched an “Amazon meal kits” service to reportedly compete with new Internet startup Blue Apron.
Amazon has become a primary destination for people to not only make purchases but to research as well. An Internet Retailer survey conducted in December discovered 52 percent of consumers go to Amazon first when searching for products, with Google as the second-most popular option at 38 percent. Research has been an increasingly important role in the product purchase cycle for consumers, as the Internet has made it easier than ever for consumers to compare different products through a variety of sources.
The market for online advertising is in a similar situation, finding itself in a duopoly with Facebook and Google, who have accounted for 99 percent of the growth within the online advertising industry. Because of the new nature of the e-commerce and Internet markets, concentrations of power are fairly common. Innovations are developed within a handful of industry-leading firms.
Dirxion offers tools for businesses to capitalize on the shifting trends and growth in the e-commerce market via online catalogs services. Through differentiation of their shopping experience and engaging in the omni-channel experience, businesses can stake a stronger claim within the market. Dirxion online catalogs are versatile and optimized with HTML5 to ensure cross-platform and multi-browser performance standards are met. Dirxion online catalogs can be integrated into existing e-commerce platforms and live directly on a company’s website to ensure a seamless, optimized shopping experience for customers.
