Amazon Conquers Third of Online Sales

Friday, December 13, 2019 - 13:47 by Graham Miller

30 per cent of all purchases made via safe shopping online in the UK are conducted via Amazon, easily allowing it to eclipse every other brand in the e-commerce space.

This is based on figures published by Ascential, in which Amazon’s dominance is charted out and an annual rise in its market share is also outlined.

In comparison, second place eBay has a 9.8 per cent share, while well-known supermarket brands such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s have less than five per cent of the market apiece.

John Lewis is the only non-supermarket bricks and mortar brand to make it into the top five in terms of sales, securing 3.6 per cent of the market in the UK this year.

Report spokesperson Nick Everitt said that with online-only outlets like Amazon and eBay leading the way, it was obvious that Britain’s best-known high street brands could not afford to allow this trend to continue into 2020. He argued that the best weapon that these retailers have in their arsenal is their ability to satisfy the needs of customers both online and in-store, making a focus on omni-channel performance very important for them next year.

Everitt also said that there would be further challenges in the coming months as retailers tried to invest in improving services while dealing with the subdued demand and sluggish sales that are still being perpetuated by the unresolved issue of Brexit.

Of course, as Amazon sits at the top of the sales tree today, it seems almost impossible that any smaller firm will be able to dethrone it. And with the promise of new services being rolled out by the US giant, including same-day delivery in more regions of the UK, competitors will only face a greater struggle to stand out.