The world’s most developed market for online shopping by far, the US is the global standard for e-commerce. Many of its greatest e-commerce companies are in a leading position in other countries, setting the pace and creating the trends that shape the rest of the world’s online shopping.
The domination of the US on internet and e-commerce comes from its massive 288 million internet users, affluent population and well-spread habit of relying upon online shopping. Using both computers and mobile devices to access digital services, American online consumers are used to engaging in commercial transactions to purchase a wide array of goods and services.
Since the American market is so developed and solvable, it is no surprise that the competition between e-commerce players is fierce. Large platforms that operate through many segments, like Amazon and eBay, are dominating, but traditional brick-and-mortar distributors are still managing to take a share of the market.
However, some space is still available for new entrants, as some new competitors have been able to take a share of the market by owning specific categories, such as Etsy with home-made products. Furthermore, newcomers like Wish.com, one of the top US startups, have found ways to grab a share of the American market (as well as in many other countries) by riding the wave of changing shopping habits through mobile devices and social media.
Note that this post is part of a series:
- Top e-commerce sites in Canada
- Top e-commerce sites in Mexico
- Top e-commerce sites in Brazil
- Top e-commerce sites in the UK
- Top e-commerce sites in Germany
- Top e-commerce sites in France
- Top e-commerce sites in Italy
- Top e-commerce sites in Spain
- Top e-commerce sites in China
- Top e-commerce sites in Japan
- Top e-commerce sites in India
- Top e-commerce sites in Australia
List of the top 10 American e-commerce platforms by monthly traffic
To give you more perspective of the large volumes and the competition in the American e-commerce landscape, here are the current top 10 leaders of e-commerce platforms in the US in 2020 and their estimated monthly traffic from SimilarWeb, as of February 2020.
10. Lowe’s
Lowe’s is the second-largest home improvement and hardware chain in the United States, with more than 2,000 stores throughout the country. Besides its brick-and-mortar locations, Lowe’s also sells a wide range of construction materials, home and garden equipment, furniture and tools online through its own e-commerce platform.
Website: lowes.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 70 Million visits
9. Macy’s
Macy’s is a leading department store chain in the United States with products ranging from women and men fashion, accessories and children clothes, as well as home and decoration products. Having also launched its online shop to sell products to digital customers, Macy’s also ships its products to more than 200 locations worldwide.
Website: macys.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 74.9 Million visits
8. Wayfair
Wayfair is an e-commerce company specialized in furniture and home-goods. Founded in 2002 as CSN Stores, Wayfair provides an open marketplace where more than 10,000 global suppliers sell millions of products directly to digital customers. To support its digital activities, Wayfair has developed offices and warehouses throughout the United States, and it has also expanded its operations abroad in Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Website: wayfair.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 77.7 Million visits
7. Best Buy
Best Buy is a leading retailer specialized in consumer electronics, computers, appliances, cell phones, video games, tech and gadgets in the United States, also operating in Canada and Mexico, and China through a subsidiary. Having developed its e-commerce shop, Best Buy sells its electronics and home appliances online to American digital customers.
Website: bestbuy.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 92.4 Million visits
6. Target
The second-largest department store retailer behind Walmart, Target operates more than 1,800 stores throughout the United States. Also proposing a diversified online store, Target sells products ranging from fashion to home decoration and furniture, from groceries to electronics and hygiene products.
Website: target.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 128 Million visits
5. Home Depot
Home Depot is the largest hardware and home improvement supplies retailing company in the United States, with more than 2,200 stores throughout the country. In its brick-and-mortar shops and online store, Home Depot sells tools, construction products, home and garden equipment furniture and associated services. Home Depot also operates in Canada and Mexico.
Website: homedepot.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 129.5 Million visits
4. Etsy
Etsy is a marketplace focusing on handmade or vintage products and unique factory-manufactured items. It enables people and companies to sell directly to the website’s users a wide range of art and photography products, clothing and accessories, food, bath and beauty products, toys and diverse other items.
Website: etsy.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 222.5 Million visits
3. Walmart
Walmart is the world’s largest retail corporation, operating hypermarkets, department stores, and grocery stores. A leader in the United States, it is also engaged in Canada, Mexico and a number of other countries through subsidiaries. Its online shop sells a diversified range of products, from food to electronics, from fashion to pharmacy, from home equipment to auto-parts.
Website: walmart.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 294.5 Million visits
2. eBay
A pioneer of e-commerce, eBay is an online marketplace that allows people and businesses to sell directly through its online auction platform. Founded in 1995, eBay has expanded to more than 20 countries, organizing the sale of products ranging from cars and vehicles to electronics and fashion, home and garden to sports and toys, and even business and industrial products.
Website: ebay.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 746.5 Million visits
1. Amazon
Founded in the US in 1994, Amazon started as an online bookstore that later diversified to products including media, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. Having expanded to many countries, including the UK, Amazon has become the uncontested global leader of e-commerce with the world’s largest sales and profits. It develops further into brick-and-mortar retail with the acquisition of Whole Foods Market, as well as in publishing, electronics, cloud computing, video streaming, and a number of other businesses.
Website: amazon.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 2.012 Billion visits
Top e-commerce websites in the United States compared by monthly traffic
The estimated monthly traffic from the top 10 e-commerce platforms previously listed demonstrate the clear lead of Amazon and the firm second place of eBay, respectively above 2 billion and 740 million visits per month. Their followers are well established in volumes of seventy to a few hundred million visits per month.
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Top brands conducting business through e-commerce in the United States
Besides these platforms that are engaged in a wide array of products, some brands can also be highlighted for their heavy impact. Even though they are not open platforms for multiple products, brands, and categories, these companies are still online powerhouses that manage to sell their products exclusively and reach massive audiences.
Apple, of course, is a leader among these brands. Even though its website and mobile platform has a global reach, with half a billion monthly visitors globally, Apple still has hundreds of millions of visitors in the US. Thanks to its website, iTunes and app store, Apple sells enormous amounts of both hardware and software products, making it one of the largest companies in the US and the world.
Various other brands can also be remarked, including Steam, the online gaming store and service provider, AT&T, the number one American telecommunication company online selling a range of mobile, media and services through its website, or Ikea, the home decoration and furniture company succeeding globally and in the US.
Here are the top e-commerce platforms in the US. Have you ever bought goods or services from them? How was the experience, is the price cheaper and the delivery convenient? Let us know in the comments below!
Thanks a lot for this great write up. But, I want to know, can you recommend me any article at all on starting out an e-commerce business. I really don’t have any idea. But, I am passionate about it
Thanks for sharing this great article with us.
Can you suggest to me which e-commerce platform is most beneficial for me to sell handmade and vintage and handicraft items worldwide?
Hi,
Etsy is probably a good place to start.
Cheers!
Yes that’s true
Thanks for sharing! These are truly the top e-commerce sites in the U.S.
What ecommerce generalists are in the top 10 in Great Britain?
Hi,
You can find out in our top e-commerce sites in the UK!
Cheers
Need to know your latest updates
Good day! What e-commerce platform would you suggest would be a good place to sell baby bed/crib bedding sets?
Hi,
Since Amazon has such a lead over the others in terms of traffic, you should probably try selling on Amazon, as succeeding there could bring great benefits to you if you can make it.
That being said, it’s always a good idea to try a few different platforms, since competition between platforms and between sellers within each platform can greatly impact your strategy, investment in time, money and resources, and ROI. So maybe also try eBay and one or two other specialized platforms for baby products.
Some popular baby products e-commerce stores include:
SpearmintLOVE
TwirlyGirl
Scentos
Le Petit Kids
Redsbaby
Kidstuff
Nature’s One
Fidgetland
Kids Furniture Warehouse
Little Me
Bellota Baby
See Kai Run
Feltman Brothers.
In any case, you should try and understand the internal dynamics that will make you succeed on each platform you try (product description, photos, range of products, keywords, internal ads, connection with others, impact on broader SEO…) in order to maximize your results.
Good luck!