Amazon and Walmart Account for Nearly 70% of U.S. Retail Growth
Forrester said Amazon and Walmart together accounted for nearly 70% of sales growth among the top 10 U.S. retailers, with platform competition expanding into fulfillment, content, advertising, and customer experience.
What are the key facts?
- 1Amazon and Walmart together accounted for nearly 70% of sales growth among the top 10 U.S. retailers
- 2E-commerce sales growth continued to outpace brick-and-mortar retail
- 3Services accounted for about 58% of Amazon’s revenue in 2025
- 4Nearly two-thirds of Walmart’s sales growth over the past three years came from e-commerce
What happened?
A U.S. retail competition analysis published by Forrester on October 6 said Amazon and Walmart together accounted for nearly 70% of sales growth among the top 10 U.S. retailers. At the same time, e-commerce sales growth continued to outpace brick-and-mortar retail, and platforms are increasing investment in fast fulfillment, AI shopping assistants, personalized recommendations, advertising, and membership programs. The report said services accounted for about 58% of Amazon’s revenue in 2025, while nearly two-thirds of Walmart’s sales growth over the past three years came from e-commerce. For cross-border sellers, platform competition is no longer focused only on commissions and traffic; it also involves delivery speed, inventory location, content quality, advertising efficiency, and customer experience. The report also said sellers need higher-quality structured product data, short videos, and Q&A content, and should evaluate combinations of FBA, WFS, third-party overseas warehouses, and local delivery.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
U.S. platform competition has expanded beyond commissions and traffic to delivery speed, inventory location, content quality, advertising efficiency, and customer experience, reinforced by growth from Amazon and Walmart. Sellers relying only on low prices and remote direct shipping should improve product content and evaluate combinations of FBA, WFS, third-party overseas warehouses, and local delivery.
What should sellers do now?
- 1Complete structured product data, short videos, and Q&A content for priority listings on Amazon and Walmart; review titles, attributes, selling points, and buyer questions line by line; and produce a gap list and revised content.Listing Optimizer
- 2Calculate fulfillment combinations using FBA, WFS, third-party overseas warehouses, and local delivery; record delivery speed, inventory location, and costs for priority SKUs in the U.S. market; and create an actionable channel comparison table.Marketplace fee compare
- 3Review U.S. stores that rely only on low prices and remote direct shipping, select priority SKUs to compare inventory locations and delivery options, and produce each SKU’s fulfillment risks, content improvement items, and adjustment priority.Dimensional weight