Analysis of the North American e-commerce market concentration in 2023: Amazon is still the uncrowned king

North America is one of the most dynamic and promising e-commerce markets in the world. In 2022, the total revenue of the e-commerce market in North America reached US$944 billion, approaching the trillion-dollar mark. This makes North America the second largest e-commerce market in the world after Asia.

Currently, most of the world's largest e-commerce platforms are from North America, such as Amazon, eBay, and Shopify. At the same time, North America is also the target market for many Chinese e-commerce companies going overseas. Temu and Shein both started in the United States.

It is learned that ecommerceDBTrendReport recently released the 2023 edition of the "North American E-commerce" report, which comprehensively analyzes the North American e-commerce market, including the e-commerce markets of various countries and the current market concentration of major players.

For Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers, understanding market concentration is very important for entering the North American e-commerce market and formulating effective business strategies.

According to the report, the top 10 players with the largest e-commerce share in the North American e-commerce market are as follows:

Amazon has the largest e-commerce market share in many countries, including North America. It is the largest e-commerce platform in North America, and its market share in the United States and Canada is very large.

According to 2021 data released by market research firm eMarketer, Amazon accounts for about 40% of the US e-commerce market, while Walmart, which ranks second, only accounts for 13%. In Canada, Amazon's market share is as high as 44.2%, far exceeding the 10.9% of Shopify, which ranks second. In the Mexican market, Amazon's market share is as high as 16.4%, which is also the e-commerce platform with the highest market share.

The latest report shows that Amazon's total net sales currently reach 140 billion US dollars, exceeding the total of the second to sixth ranked competitors and accounting for 44% of the total net sales of the top ten players.

Walmart and Apple rank second and third in North America in terms of e-commerce market share, respectively, and have a substantial advantage over their successors in terms of net sales.

The report shows that the concentration of the top 250 e-commerce players in the three major e-commerce markets in North America also varies.

Data from 2021 shows that Amazon, Walmart, and Apple account for approximately 38% of net sales generated by the top 250 e-commerce players in the U.S. There is a similar concentration in Canada, with Amazon, Walmart, and Costco accounting for 37% of the top 250 players’ net sales.

But in Mexico, the situation is different, with the top three e-commerce players accounting for 34% of the total net sales of the top 250 participants, while the sales from 4th to 100th still account for 53% of the share.

However, the concentration of Mexico's e-commerce market has also been increasing in recent years. Between 2019 and 2022, the sales of the top five e-commerce players in Mexico increased by 50%, and the sales of the top six players increased by 60%, while the compound annual growth rate of the corresponding rankings in the United States and Canada was less than 40%.

In general, the presence of major players such as Amazon makes the North American e-commerce market highly competitive and highly concentrated. For Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers, on the one hand, these major e-commerce giants have strong brand influence and market share, which can provide cross-border sellers with wider exposure and sales opportunities.

On the other hand, the high concentration of the market also brings some challenges and competitive pressure. Since these major e-commerce giants occupy most of the market share, it is more difficult for other small and emerging cross-border e-commerce sellers to compete with them. This means that compared with other markets, it takes more time and resources to establish your own brand influence and market share in North America.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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