Walmart Strips Apple of Its E-Commerce Sales Ranking

According to the latest projections from eMarketer, Walmart will soon be the third biggest online retailer in the US, trailing behind eBay and Amazon. The company has reportedly leapfrogged tech company, Apple, to take the coveted position as it gears up to take on two of the world’s largest online marketplaces.

By the end of this year, eMarketer says Walmart will have control of four percent of America’s total e-commerce sales, equating to $US20.01 billion. This figure is up from 3.3 percent in 2017. The company’s online revenue is generated from a culmination of Walmart.com sales and purchases made through Walmart-owned Sam’s Club and Jet.com.

Over the past few years, Walmart has been aggressively expanding its online offerings in a bid to take a bigger slice of the e-commerce pie, and eventually, de-thrown the likes of Amazon. According to Andrew Lipsman, eMarketer’s principal analyst, “Walmart’s e-commerce business has been firing on all cylinders lately.”

“The retail giant continues to make smart acquisitions to extend its e-commerce portfolio and attract younger and more affluent shoppers. But more than anything, Walmart has caught its stride with a fast-growing online grocery business, which is helped in part by the massive consumer adoption of click-and-collect,” he said.

In the last 12-months alone, the business has expanded its click-and-collect offerings, made free two-day shipping available to more consumers and updated its online/offline returns process.

It’s also added the likes of plus-size retailer, Eloquii to its ranks, lowered its everyday prices and recruited influencers to boost its online sales. This is on top of a new website and plans to further expand its in-store offerings.

In its Q3 results that were released on Thursday, Walmart also reported a 43 percent growth in its online sales, as well as a comparable sales growth of 3.4 percent across all of its channels. Total revenue for the quarter was $124.9 billion.

“We have momentum in the business as we execute our plan and benefit from a favourable economic environment in the US,” Walmart’s President and CEO, Doug McMillon said.

“We’re accelerating innovation and utilising technology to shape the future of retail. We’re making shopping at Walmart faster and easier. With the holidays approaching, customers can count on Walmart to save them money, and we’ll also provide busy families with another important gift – time back in their day.”

Moving forward, the company is looking forward to the upcoming Black Friday shopping event, with the business introducing its deals on Walmrt.com earlier than ever, with 18 Black Friday deals released online on November 8.

“There really is no bigger or better day of the year than Black Friday; that’s why we are pulling out all the stops to make it a great night for our customers,” said Steve Bratspies, chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S.

“With new features like colour-coded Black Friday Store Maps in the Walmart app and Check Out With Me, as well as earlier access to the deals online, it’s never been easier for customers to shop – and save – at Walmart on Black Friday.”

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows for the cross-channel department store, however, as it still has a long way to go if it wants to catch-up to global juggernaut, Amazon. According to eMarketer, eBay currently holds 7.6 percent of America’s online sales, 3.6 percentage points more than Walmart, while Amazon is estimated to rake in $US252.10 billion in US sales alone, representing 48 percent of the country’s e-commerce revenue. This has increased from 43.1 percent in 2017.

eMarketer also expects we’ll see US online sales grow to a total of $US525.69 billion by the end of the year, representing 9.8 percent of US retail sales.

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