Who is the leader in grocery ecommerce sales in the US? This is an easy question, right?

It might be, but it's not who you are probably thinking of.

Walmart is the grocery ecommerce sales in the US, with $59Bs projected sales in 2024 (vs Amazon's $41Bs). Actually, Walmart has been the leader since 2019, when it surpassed Amazon's sales and has been widening the gap ever since (source: Insider Intelligence).

It is thought Walmart's physical proximity to the vast majority of the US population has been a driving force behind this trend, as it enables simpler and faster delivery options, like curbside and in-store. Another example (and angle) of the rising importance of phygital...

(quick note - these figures are about grocery ecommerce, if we looked at overall ecommerce in the US, Amazon would still be leader)

Singles' Day 2023

In 1994, Dan Kohn sold a CD for $12.48 through an encrypted website he built himself. That's usually considered the first eCommerce transaction ever done.

Today, 11.11 (Saint Martin's day, by the way), is Singles' Day, the world's biggest eCommerce shopping event, with an estimated global sales level of $157 Billion in a single day, in 2022. This shopping event originated in China and is still mainly a Chinese one (a kind reminder that China is the biggest eCommerce market in the world), though we are starting to see it rippling through to Western markets.

From a $12.48 single pioneer sale to $157Bs in one day, eCommerce keeps on growing, as omnichannel approaches keep on driving sales where people spend time (and an average global citizen spends 6h41m online, daily). I am very curious to see the online sales evolution this year - with a keen eye on today's volume...