Amazon has long held the crown for dealing with the highest percentage of total online sales. As an extremely early adopter of the shift from retail to online markets, Amazon has held an advantage for decades.

That’s because Amazon has always been the largest online retailer since its first full year of operation in 1996. Though it has faced many competitors over the years, none have stood strong against the commerce giant.

While Amazon is still the largest in the market, its share has started to shift towards its competition. Namely, the retail company Shopify. As of the final quarter of 2021, Shopify had captured half the market share as Amazon. 

This marks the best time for market share in Shopify’s history. Shopify merchants processed $175b in gross merchandise value (GMV) compared to Amazon’s $390b. 

Reaching the position of Amazon only being double their size is a massive accomplishment. Back in Q1 of 2018, Shopify had cornered just over 20% of Amazon Marketplace’s share.

Shopify experienced rapid growth at the start of the Pandemic that took them to new highs. The increased need for businesses to take products online grew the company quickly and impressively.

When the newness of the situation wore off and some business returned to normal, there was a slight dip but it fast returned. Now, Shopify has greatly exceeded any previous records in sales or GMV. 

The result is a merchant base that has more than doubled since 2018. While we’ve always known Amazon as the biggest marketplace, there is, for the first time, a serious contender. 

Shopify has the potential to continue growing over the Amazon Marketplace in the coming years but faces a host of other competitors. Companies like Magento, WooCommerce, and more are all gunning for the same share of the market as Shopify and Amazon. 

Now What?

Amazon is still twice as large as Shopify and produces some unique advantages due to that. As the market shifts, it’s more important than ever to have a handle on your capabilities within the platform.

As more of the market becomes interested in other options for commerce, the companies that invest in themselves now will benefit most. That’s where the team at Anata comes in! Our specialty is in helping brands thrive in the marketplace.

We do this through our network collaboration and marketing innovation techniques. Contact us today to see how we can help take your business to the next level!