Online retailers generated about half a trillion dollars in sales in the US in 2026. Moreover, online sales are expanding between 15% and 17% every year, compared to 5% for the whole retail business.
So it’s no wonder that some of the biggest online companies are e-commerce. And at this moment companies like Amazon, AliBaba, eBay, and many other such companies have taken the peak of the digital business industry.
So, in this post, we’ll look at some of the world’s largest e-commerce companies and know how they have taken the ecommerce business to a whole new level.
The Best Ecommerce Companies in the World Right Now
The most common technique to compare online retailers is by (GMV) Gross Merchandise Value. This is also called gross merchandise volume or gross merchandise sales. An online store or marketplace GMV is the total value of all sold items.
GMV is not revenue. For instance, eBay is a marketplace, not a retailer. As a result, its revenue is small. However, Shopify makes it easy for other companies to sell things online, hence revenue is low compared to GMV.
The sales of Amazon’s own retail operations and those of third-party merchants on its marketplace are roughly equal. Therefore, its revenue exceeds its GMV. Online stores that only offer their own products (think brand merchants) will generate nearly the same revenue as GMV.
Here is the list of the best ecommerce companies who have taken the ecommerce business to a whole new level.
Amazon
Amazon is one of the US’s largest online retailers at this moment. They began as an online bookstore, however, they quickly expanded into fashion, electronics, and home items.
Amazon Prime is maybe its most successful online retail innovation till now. It’s a monthly subscription service that offers free 2-day shipping. You can get unlimited storage for images, free ebooks, and many other features have also been added over time. Amazon currently has more than 100 million Amazon Prime members globally.
FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) lets third-party sellers use Amazon’s logistics, warehouses, and fulfillment centers. FBA items are also Prime-eligible, making it vital for attracting customers to Amazon.
Moreover, Amazon’s GMV was around $239 billion in 2018. Their sales were $116 billion directly and another $123 billion from only third-party vendors on its marketplace.
Amazon made nearly $37 billion in third-party sales fees. That’s better than most marketplaces, but Amazon’s prices for third-party sellers using services like FBA are comparatively higher.
Point to be noted, Amazon is famous among marketers for its top notch affiliate program. If you need some more affiliate deal recommendations, read this article.
Alibaba
Alibaba launched 1688.com and Alibaba.com in 1999. Its main site is a global wholesale platform, whereas 1688.com operates in China.
Alibaba’s main commerce businesses also include:
Taobao:
Alibaba’s mainland China C2C marketplace enables entrepreneurs and small enterprises to reach all of their consumers. It’s currently the world’s largest e-commerce site.
Tmall
Taobao is mainly focused on B2C e-commerce in China. Following Taobao, it generated $340 billion GMV in 2017.
AliExpress:
Designed mainly for foreign shoppers, allowing Chinese small enterprises to sell to their customers in the US, Brazil, Russia, and Spain
Add to that Alibaba’s wholesale markets are go-to sources for searching suppliers and manufacturers in Asia to obtain white-label items. Alibaba is the world’s largest e-commerce corporation, led by AliExpress and many other retail investments.
eBay
In the 1990s, eBay began as an online auction house for consumers to sell secondhand products and collectibles. Now, 80% of their items are sold on the site as new products, and 85% are fixed-price.
eBay is trying to emulate Amazon’s platform. It encourages vendors to provide free 3-day shipping. It helps users find the cheapest price by integrating product listings from different merchants.
It also introduced a Best Price Guarantee, where shoppers can get a 110 percent refund if they buy an item on eBay and find the same item cheaper elsewhere.
JD.com
It is a Chinese version of Amazon. An unrivaled logistical network of over 7,000 delivery points and 500 warehouses. Unlike Amazon, JD.com handles all logistics in-house, not outsourcing last-mile deliveries to other parties.
This allows JD.com to ship around 90% of purchases within one day whereas Amazon is spending heavily on their own delivery network.
JD, also has a first-party retail division, but it even partners with multinational brands like Walmart to reach the Chinese consumers. Moreover, in 2016, JD launched “JD Plus” and they get free shipment up to 60 times each year and iQiyi’s premium service. The company now has over 10 million JD Plus customers who renew at 80%.
Bottom Line
The world is moving to a new advancement every year and through e-commerce things are not only getting simpler but also more convenient. The rise of e-commerce companies have given directions to a whole new business route that’ll only extend with time and get skyrocketing successes.