E-commerce in the United States - statistics & facts
The United States has always been dominated by domestic online retailers, but now, two foreign companies are taking on the U.S. market: Temu and Shein. The growing e-commerce market is estimated to generate 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2024. By 2029, U.S. consumers' appetite for online shopping is forecast to bring in 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars. In terms of product categories, electronics and fashion are the most popular online, as they have the highest share of online users.
Consumer spending in the U.S. remains resilient, particularly in online shopping, with e-commerce revenues estimated to grow by over 50 percent in six years. While home-grown marketplaces are not likely to lose their top spot to Chinese competitors, these newcomers are worth keeping an eye out for in the years to come.
Amazon reigns, others follow
Amazon is by far the leading e-retailer in the United States. The marketplace holds almost two-fifths of the online shopping market, whereas its competitors only have shares ranging from one to six percent. Amazon also significantly outperforms its U.S. competitors in terms of e-retail sales. In 2023, Amazon generated approximately 135 billion U.S. dollars via retail e-commerce sales in the country, compared to Walmart, which generated about 65 million U.S. dollars. Other successful shopping websites include Apple, The Home Depot, and Target.The Chinese app takeover
Shopping on smartphones is the most popular way to purchase items online in the United States, which is why shopping apps are so important in today’s retail landscape. In mobile commerce, Amazon faces tough competition from Chinese shopping apps, which have become widely used among U.S. online shoppers, especially those looking for affordable options. In fact, Temu emerged as the most downloaded shopping app in the U.S. in 2023, with nearly 123 million downloads, surpassing Amazon by a fivefold margin. Shein, a fast-fashion marketplace, ranked second, with around 37 million app downloads. However, despite their popularity in terms of app downloads, Temu and Shein did not outperform the top local players in terms of e-commerce revenue that year. This suggests that while Chinese shopping apps may be prevalent among U.S. consumers for their low prices, they still face challenges in the highly competitive U.S. market.Consumer spending in the U.S. remains resilient, particularly in online shopping, with e-commerce revenues estimated to grow by over 50 percent in six years. While home-grown marketplaces are not likely to lose their top spot to Chinese competitors, these newcomers are worth keeping an eye out for in the years to come.
