Retail market in the United States - statistics & facts

Retail e-commerce

While traditional retail was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, national lockdowns and the closing of physical stores accelerated the growth of online retail. In the first quarter of 2022, e-commerce had more than a 14 percent share of the total U.S. retail market, almost four percent more than at the same point in 2019. Accordingly, U.S. e-commerce retail sales have grown significantly in recent times: from 2016 to 2021, the country’s e-commerce sales value increased by approximately 487 billion U.S. dollars.

Amazon vs. Walmart

Amazon is undoubtedly the leading company in the e-commerce market, with a 38 percent share of the U.S. online market in 2022, and net e-commerce sales in excess of 110 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Amazon was far ahead of second-placed Walmart in both of these metrics. However, while Amazon was the leading online retailer, Walmart was the top U.S. retailer overall in 2021. Founded by Sam Walton in Arkansas in the sixties, Walmart is one of the largest retail corporations in the United States and the world. The company generated an estimated 459 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of retail sales in the United States, which was more than double the amount generated by Amazon.com that year.

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