Walmart has overtaken Amazon as the largest e-commerce retailer in the United States by gross merchandise value, according to a new report from eMarketer β the first time in the modern era that any US company has displaced Amazon from the top spot in online retail.
The shift has been years in the making. Walmart's e-commerce strategy focused on leveraging its unparalleled physical store network of 4,600 US locations as fulfillment hubs. Walmart's same-day delivery service, available to 93% of the US population, has proven decisive in grocery and everyday essentials β categories where Amazon has consistently struggled to match Walmart's price and convenience.
Walmart+ membership, the company's answer to Amazon Prime, has grown to 48 million US subscribers after launching its own video streaming service, expanding its prescription drug discount program, and partnering with Paramount+ for a combined subscription bundle.
"Walmart figured out that in America, the person who wins the grocery wars wins e-commerce," said retail analyst Neil Saunders of GlobalData. "Grocery is the anchor that drives everything else."
Amazon remains dominant in electronics, books, apparel, and high-value discretionary goods. But Walmart's momentum in everyday replenishment items β which account for the majority of US households' monthly spend β has tipped the overall GMV balance.
