10 of Amazon’s Biggest Competitors: Who are They and to What do They Owe their Success?
When looking at online marketplaces, there’s one platform that immediately catches our attention: Amazon, a multinational titan that, over the years, has become a driving force in the online business sector.
Established by Jeff Bezos in 1994, the company is indisputably one of the largest corporations presiding over the eCommerce industry. As of 2022, Amazon has been valued at over 700 billion USD, compared to a decade ago when its value wouldn’t surpass more than 5 billion USD. Additionally, with revenue exceeding 400 billion USD last year, as stated by Statista, the company has secured itself a place in the top-earning eCommerce platforms of all time.
Find more statistics at Statista
Nevertheless, even Amazon isn’t unbeatable as the marketplace has a generous number of contenders as well. Today, we’re going to be looking at Amazon’s competitors and run a small competitor analysis of our own to try to unpuzzle the ways they’ve become as successful as Jeff’s enterprise and how they’re even able to keep up with a giant like Amazon. So, let’s get into the companies that have been butting heads with Amazon and find out their secrets to success.
Who are Amazon’s competitors?
Otto
Headquarters: Hamburg, Germany
Based in the metropolis of Hamburg, Otto is one of the biggest eCommerce platforms both in Germany and Europe. Established in 1949 by Werner Otto, what started out as a mail-order company was soon transformed into an international online selling platform, earning over 6 billion USD in 2021.
It offers entrepreneurs the possibility to sell almost anything: from apparel and footwear, household goods and furniture, and bathroom accessories to electronics, DIY materials, and toy collections.
Why is it so successful?
The platform owes its success to its variety of categories, and especially the abundance of subcategories, particularly those present in the clothing category as well as in the rest of the product sections.
Having these few pieces of information in mind, it should come as no surprise why Otto is so popular among European customers. Therefore, if you plan on targeting consumers based throughout Europe, the Otto platform is a great way to start off and work your way up from there.
Poshmark
Headquarters: Redwood City, California
Although Amazon is well known as a platform that offers to buy and sell services of just about anything you could think of, when it comes to the apparel section, the online marketplace Poshmark is one of the eCommerce companies that have dominance over this particular segment.
Why is it so successful?
Retailers interested in starting a remote clothing business should undoubtedly consider Poshmark among their first choices because of the platform’s many advantages. Some of them include free product listings for sales over 15 USD, prepaid and pre-addressed parcel labels, and an incredibly convenient and customer-attracting Poshmark mobile app where people can host virtual shopping Posh Parties.
Currently, the app has over 10 million downloads on Google Play and a rating of 4.8 on the App Store.
Flipkart
Headquarters: Bengaluru, India
Founded in 2007 in India by Sachin and Binny Bansal, Flipkart is one more eCommerce platform closely competing with Amazon. Online retailers can sell many types of profitable items, including fashion items, house appliances, and mobile phones as well as other tech devices.
Why is it so successful?
Having an increase in sales of 25% from the previous year, Flipkart is a promising online platform that has been bringing so far exceedingly pleasant experiences for both sellers and buyers. Customers are able to easily navigate through both the website and their mobile app, get to enjoy multiple discounts and benefit from various shopping coupons. Retailers, on the other hand, are offered convenient and effortless registration with a 0% sales commission and over 3000 delivery hubs.
Facebook Marketplace
Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
If you’re looking to explore social media-based selling platforms, then there’s no more prominent contender than Facebook Marketplace.
After launching the Facebook app in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg’s inventiveness didn’t stop there. His vision kept expanding, which in 2016 ultimately led to the creation of a global marketplace where Facebook users could sell and purchase trending products from one another and easily set in motion their own online businesses.
Why is it so successful?
Because of the massive network of users, the platform has accumulated from its conception up until this moment, Facebook Marketplace quickly became one of the main attractions in the eCommerce world. The platform allows sellers to create product listings for no fee by simply setting up an active account. From there on, they can effortlessly reach thousands of Facebook users and generate their target profits.
According to Datareportal, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users registered in January of this year, Facebook has ranked first in the race of most used social networks on a global scale. This, in turn, puts Facebook Marketplace in the group of most popular eCommerce sites for selling and purchasing products from almost any kind of category.
Walmart
Headquarters: Bentonville, Arkansas
American giant retail corporation Walmart deserves a place on the list of Amazon’s biggest competitors as well. Headquartered in the state of Arkansas, despite owning a highly-competitive online marketplace, Walmart also runs a chain of grocery stores, department stores, and hypermarkets across the US, UK, Canada, and other countries.
Why is it so successful?
Having already established a loyal audience through its 10,000 brick-and-mortar stores, the company’s eCommerce market became a sensation in no time, alluring not only shoppers but retailers as well. With referral fees varying from 6 to 20% depending on the category you’re working with, Walmart offers affordable selling conditions and quite a straightforward registration process which includes filling out an application and setting up your seller account.
As stated by Statista, in 2022 the company’s net sales amounted to staggering 567.76 billion USD worldwide. This figure proves Walmart’s success in the eCommerce field and shows prospective entrepreneurs that Amazon isn’t the only platform offering great online sales opportunities.
Find more statistics at Statista
Zalando
Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
Another fashion giant Amazon competes within the apparel sector is German online retailer Zalando. With 14 years of experience in the eCommerce industry, the company successfully operates across 23 European countries, making it unquestionably one of the largest digital shopping platforms on the continent.
Why is it so successful?
Having the possibility to work through their partner program or choose to collaborate with the company as a connected retailer or wholesaler, Zalando has been alluring many sellers, exposing them to close to 49 million active consumers.
Store owners are given the liberty to integrate all items directly into the platform, be in charge of price setting, and let the payment process be handled by the platform. Expected to maintain a growing revenue of 3% in 2022, increasing the company’s profits to 10.3 billion euros, Zalando is on the road to becoming a leading fashion eCommerce platform.
eBay
Headquarters: San Jose, California
Situated second right after Amazon on the list of most popular online shopping sites based on the share of visits, American company eBay is a massive online platform that has been competing face-to-face with Amazon for quite a long period of time.
Check out: eBay vs. Amazon
Why is it so successful?
Having been launched in the days when eCommerce selling was still a fairly new business sector that was just starting to accumulate popularity, eBay used the opportunity to become one of the first companies to offer people the service of product listing for small fees, which are still applicable today, ranging from 7 to 15%. Nowadays, eBay is available to retailers and buyers across every continent, enabling users to use the platform from anywhere in the world.
Find more statistics at Statista
Target
Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Target is well known among end consumers as one of the biggest department stores in the US, offering an incredibly wide selection of items to shop from. With main offices located in Minnesota, believe it or not, Target has been in business for well over 100 years, starting in 1902 under the name of Goodfellow Dry Goods.
Why is it so successful?
In 2019, Target launched its own online marketplace called Target Plus, where sellers are invited to develop their online businesses and offer customers their unique brands and products. Insider Intelligence predicted a 22.3% growth in eCommerce sales, expecting the platform to reach a profit of 24 billion USD by last year.
Being fairly new, Target Plus still has a lot of growing up to do, but it has been showing great potential and competitiveness by providing interested sellers with great support and assistance in building up their online stores.
Rakuten
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
After its foundation in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikinati, it didn’t take long for the Japanese eCommerce website Rakuten to start climbing the stairs of success. With over 15 different item categories offered at the disposal of buyers and retailers, the company soon became a participant in the race for the best online marketplaces worldwide.
Why is it so successful?
In addition to its wide collection of product sections, other features that assisted Rakuten in building a strong eCommerce presence are the platform’s cash-back program and bonus offers. In 2022, the Rakuten group has earned well over 1.9 million JPY, displaying a positive leap in its financial status in comparison to the profits produced in 2020 and 2021.
Catch
Headquarters: Victoria, Australia
Created by Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, Catch is an online B2C platform that has been dominating the Australian eCommerce market since 2006.
Why is it so successful?
Offering almost the same range of product categories as Amazon, the platform has been racing with Bezos’ business for quite some time. Some of the main reasons that have contributed to its worldwide acclaim are the no-fee product listings, a 2-month free trial period, and the exposure to over 3 million active customers.
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To sum things up
Although Amazon reigns over the eCommerce market, that doesn’t mean that the platform is untouchable by anyone. It’s true that the company has set up some pretty high standards other businesses might struggle to keep up with. However, this makes competitors feel even more motivated to keep on competing for their spots in the world of online marketplaces.
So, if you’re looking for other great selling platforms out there that share similar business strategies as Amazon, you can take a look at our comprehensive list of Amazon competitors and give some of them a shot.
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About the Author
Nedina Gjorgjieva
Proud bookworm, passionate content writer and devoted Arctic Monkeys fan. Always in the mood for travel and sightseeing.
