For years, Walmart has held the title of America's biggest retailer by revenue, with sales reaching $648 billion last year. But Amazon is closing in fast with $575 billion in revenue, growing at a rate of 12% compared to Walmart’s 6%. If this trend continues, Amazon could soon overtake Walmart.
Key Stats:
- Walmart’s Sales: $648 billion in 2023.
- Amazon’s Sales: $575 billion in 2023.
- Projected Amazon Sales: Expected to reach $700 billion within 12-18 months.
Walmart’s Challenges
Walmart’s massive size means it needs to add around $26 billion in sales each year to hit its 4% growth target. With 90% of Americans already shopping at Walmart, finding new revenue streams is tough. Recently, Walmart announced it would cut hundreds of corporate jobs and move remote workers back to offices, signaling internal challenges.
Competing Strategies
Walmart relies heavily on its U.S. stores for sales and profits, while Amazon diversifies through cloud computing and advertising. Walmart is expanding into new areas to boost revenue:
- Advertising: Walmart sold $3.4 billion in ads in fiscal 2023, a 28% increase.
- Store Expansion: Announced plans to build new stores, its first major expansion in nearly a decade.
- Premium Foods: Launched a new line to attract higher-income shoppers.
Expert Insights
Brittain Ladd, a supply chain expert, notes that Walmart’s greatest fear is Amazon's growing presence in the grocery sector. Amazon aims to control 20% of the U.S. grocery market by 2030, posing a significant threat to Walmart, which gets 60% of its revenue from groceries.
Ladd suggests bold moves for Walmart to stay ahead:
- Mergers and Partnerships: “Walmart must become much more aggressive in M&A and partnerships,” Ladd advises.
- Potential Acquisitions: Ladd mentions, “Walmart should consider acquiring Palantir Technologies to have its own AWS.”
Future Predictions
Walmart must consider bold moves to stay ahead of Amazon. Ladd suggests Walmart could merge with The Home Depot, expand partnerships with companies like 345 Global, or even acquire tech firms like Palantir Technologies.
Impact on Supply Chain and Logistics
The intensifying competition between Walmart and Amazon will have a big impact on supply chain and logistics. Walmart’s push for new revenue streams and market expansion will necessitate more robust and efficient logistics operations.
As both giants try to outdo each other, innovations in supply chain technology, last-mile delivery, and freight logistics are likely to accelerate, which is good news for the broader industry.
Sources: WSJ | Brittain Ladd/LinkedIn
FAQs
For years, Walmart has held the title of America's biggest retailer by revenue, with sales reaching $648 billion last year. But Amazon is closing in fast with $575 billion in revenue, growing at a rate of 12% compared to Walmart's 6%. If this trend continues, Amazon could soon overtake Walmart.
Is Walmart or Amazon currently in the stronger position? ›
The company has found its e-commerce footing and is now solidly established as America's #2 online marketplace. By October 31, 2023, Amazon had generated $638.785B in online sales, a 6.44% increase year-over-year. Walmart's overall share of U.S. online sales climbed from 5.4% in 2019 to 6.4% in 2023.
Is Walmart overtaking Amazon? ›
Amazon is quickly overtaking Walmart as the largest US retailer, thanks to nearly double the growth rate as the Arkansas-based company. Walmart has enjoyed being the top retailer and #1 on Fortune's list for years, but Amazon is closing that gap and may soon take the top spot.
What competitive advantages does Walmart have against Amazon? ›
Walmart's Proximity Advantage
With 4,756 stores in the U.S. alone, Walmart has a significant physical presence, allowing for rapid delivery times, potentially even one-hour deliveries. This network gives Walmart a logistical edge over Amazon, whose warehouse network, though extensive, can't match Walmart's store count.
Who's richer, Walmart or Amazon? ›
Walmart is the world's largest retailer, with over $638 billion in revenue per Statista, and Amazon ranks behind as the second-largest U.S. company, with $554 billion in net sales in 2023. While both companies are good investments and have provided shareholders with value, there are differences when buying stock.
Do more people shop at Walmart or Amazon? ›
Of course, Amazon is still the obvious leader when it comes to online shopping. Amazon's estimated 180 million Prime members eclipse Walmart+'s estimated 59 million subscribers. Walmart's global e-commerce sales surpassed $100 billion in 2023, a first for the superstore.
What is the biggest threat to Walmart? ›
A particular threat is groceries, an area that gives Walmart—the country's largest grocer—most of its U.S. revenue. It also projected that Amazon could grab up to 20% of the U.S. grocery market by 2030, according to people familiar with the situation.
What is the largest retailer in the world in 2024? ›
As the largest retailer globally, Walmart raked in $628.6 billion dollars in revenue, with 85% of its revenue being domestic. In May 2024, its share price hit record levels as e-commerce sales boosted first quarter earnings.
Who employs more Walmart or Amazon? ›
Walmart had about 2.1 million employees in 2023, the highest of all companies worldwide that year. Walmart also led ranking of companies by revenue in 2022, with a total revenue of about 640 billion U.S. dollars. Amazon followed in second with 1.5 million employees worldwide, with Hoi Han Precision Industry in third.
Who is Walmart's biggest competitor? ›
Walmart Competitors: FAQs
As of now, Walmart's biggest competitor by market share is Amazon. Operating over 10,500 stores and clubs worldwide, Walmart has slightly better financial metrics than its rival.
The big-box retailer is the largest private employer in the U.S. with about 1.6 million employees. About 90% of the U.S. population already lives with 10 miles of a Walmart store.
What is a competitive disadvantage of Walmart? ›
Weaknesses: Labor Relations: Walmart has faced criticism for labor practices, including low wages and labor disputes. E-commerce Competition: Despite significant strides, Walmart faces intense competition from e-commerce giants (e.g, amazon, eBay), impacting its online market share.
Who has more online sales, Amazon or Walmart? ›
According to estimates, Amazon claimed the top spot among online retailers in the United States in 2023, capturing 37.6 percent of the market. Second place was occupied by the e-commerce site of the retail chain Walmart, with a 6.4 percent market share, followed in third place by Apple, with 3.6 percent.
Is Walmart the most successful company in the world? ›
American retail corporation Walmart has been the world's largest company by revenue since 2014. The list is limited to the largest 50 companies, all of which have annual revenues exceeding US$130 billion. This list is incomplete, as not all companies disclose their information to the media or general public.
Is Walmart Amazon's biggest competitor? ›
Walmart. Amazon currently dominates the US e-commerce market with roughly 40% market share. Walmart has less than 10% but has grown faster than Amazon over the past five years—even surpassing it in 2022 revenue—due to its smaller start online and recently refocused efforts on e-commerce.
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