Top 5 Most Influential E-Commerce Companies in the World
By: Mohd Arif Hussain
Tags: Ecommerce, Influence, Trends, Big Tech, Company

Photo by Abbe Sublett on Unsplash

Last year saw the rise of e-commerce like never before, with many consumers preferring to shop online instead. Last year alone the number of people using the Internet to make digital purchases reached 30.5% — an increase of 7.4% from 2018! No doubt that the Covid-19 restrictions were a catalyst for this (and similar) shopping trends, but it’s not like e-commerce needed any kind of extra help to thrive in 2019. This is where we enter the picture…

Ecommerce grew tremendously in the U.S. during the year 2020 and was responsible for 14% of total retail spending (18% with factoring in international ecommerce). It also grew 32% from $598 billion in 2019 to $790 billion. Just 3 years prior, it accounted for 11.3% of total retail spending with only $500 billion in online sales compared to today’s $790 billion.

An influential company is one that inspires and encourages others. Companies can do this by showing others what can be achieved through hard work and dedication, to inspire them to do the same. When everyone works towards a common goal, success will follow.

1. Amazon

Amazon is by far the biggest eCommerce company enjoying 10.8 billion worldwide monthly visits as of March 2021. It’s not surprising that Amazon Tower Seattle, 1 Union Square stands proudly at 541m tall, making it the tallest building in Seattle and currently the 48th tallest building in America.

With a market share of 16.6 percent as of September 2017, amazon.com is the third largest online retailer in the United States behind Apple and Walmart — with every reason to believe that it will eventually overtake number one Apple from its current position as a close second. Founded by Jeff Bezos on July 5, 1994, amazon.com soared over the first few years on the strength of its “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore” mantra and ever-increasing stock. In 1998 it had revenues of $11 billion — an increase of 21 times since it’s founding four years earlier! By 2015, amazon.com were already selling more books than any brick-and-mortar bookstore in America or Europe combined has ever sold in their entire history . The company’s 2017 annual revenue approximated $20 billion! It also placed #1 in the Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide for 10 consecutive years — double digits growth every single year!

2. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Wal- Mart is extremely complex. It employs 2 million people, operates over 10,000 retail establishments, and has the largest retail sales of any company in America. Wal- Mart sells more than $400 billion worth of products, so stock turnover for its inventory is enormous. It continues to dominate the retail industry with its unbeatable supply of goods at bargain-basement prices. Wal -Mart has always been an innovator when it comes to efficiency initiatives, and it looks like that will continue into the foreseeable future with its recent acquisition of online retailer Amazon.com Inc. which is expected to boost their base revenue by 28 percent in 2007 alone!

Wal-Mart is the largest private employer, managing an average of $32 billion in inventory to service not only its 28 countries of operation but also dozens of both big and small businesses around the globe through its supply chain. Interestingly, since opening its first two stores in 1962, Wal-Mart has invented or developed many “first to market” product innovations that are now standard features across retail channels. Wal-Mart isn’t shy about broadening its reach; ranging from acquiring major competitors to building out several specialized sales opportunities online. The world’s current population of more than seven billion people has helped make Wal-Mart a huge powerhouse company influencing communities and society as a whole.

3. Alphabet

Image by Wikimedia Commons

Alphabet comprises three main platforms: Google, YouTube and their digital ad network. Consumers use Google to do product research, as the first page of the search results is often flooded upcoming (and established) e-commerce brands website. Influencers and agencies use Alphabet’s ad network to promote new products. However, since Amazon emerged as a juggernaut in the e-commerce space, it has become more difficult for Alphabet to raise their share of shopping searches and it is not yet clear if legal issues will arise due to how these services display their work within search results pages: Alphabet was recently fined €2.42 billion for a violation of anti-trust law due to how Google Shopping is displayed in comparison with other product comparison services.

Alphabet is a major online traffic-driver in a number of categories, but their greatest strength lies in the company’s flagship property: Google. After all, it’s hard to underestimate the platform’s contributions to e-commerce today. One example of how deeply embedded Google is in the e-commerce space is that estimates show that about 23% of all revenue generated online in 2016 was due to Google AdSense alone. This figure comprises ads shown on platforms like YouTube and mobile apps.

Since the time Amazon climbed to prominence in the e-commerce space, Alphabet’s share of search engine visits has been threatened. They’ve also lost their status as a visionary project because of anti-trust law violations regarding how Google advertises on their website when compared to other shopping sites such as Amazon and eBay for example.

4. Alibaba

Alibaba is an e-commerce company that was founded in 1999. It’s based in China and owns many different companies such as Tmall, Taobao and Aliexpress. Alibaba’s main focus is on providing customers with quality service by focusing on best seller lists and sellers that deliver premium customer support. They also source products from small businesses to help them expand internationally and improve their customer base.

It’s safe to say that Alibaba is firmly at the forefront of e-commerce in China, which they’ve had some success exporting elsewhere. However, their revenue is actually drawn mainly from core commerce, so it’s likely this will change moving forward as they expand into other areas.

The online marketplace Alibaba is often likened to Amazon.com as it ranks as the most dominant e-commerce player in the world’s most populous country, China. Eighty percent of Alibaba’s revenues come from its core commerce business; however, this likely will change as the company continues to invest and expand into other sectors like content and social networking.

5. Facebook

Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

Facebook is built on social interactions. People who are logged in to Facebook communicate with each other directly or through posts they make to spread information about themselves, their interests, their businesses, and many other things. What started back in 2004 as a project initially conceived by Mark Zuckerberg during his college years at Harvard initially operated only within the boundaries of the university’s computer network called Harvard Connection before later expanding into other networks around America. It was not until 2006 that the site became public, changing its name from Thefacebook to Facebook — cashing in on the familiarity of email for people living outside of university networks. You might think this kind of platform would have disappeared after being labeled as an out-of-place fad popular with students, but Facebook has done some pretty interesting things along the way — it’s easy to see why so many people are signing up to be members!

Facebook has progressed a great deal since it was first founded. It introduced an entirely new concept of publishing and connecting, which has touched areas such as commerce, industry and even socializing. In the early 2000s, AOL was the dominant player in this arena, and closed platforms began to fade away (mostly to Google). Facebook re-invented this concept and kept users within its own platform longer than any other company at that time. If you’ll notice, even Google has adopted a few of these principles; for example, its partnership with Wal-Mart and marking web pages directly from search results!