Online marketplaces in the U.S. - statistics & facts
American marketplaces dominate the e-commerce scene in the U.S.. Few e-commerce nations have such a strong emphasis on domestic enterprises as the United States. Amazon, Walmart, Target, and eBay were all founded on U.S. soil, and are currently running the show when it comes to marketplace e-commerce. These online retailers are responsible for a large portion of the ever-growing聽e-commerce revenue, which surpassed 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025.
Pure players and early adopters on top
Generalist marketplaces are a global force, as their immense product range makes them ideal one-stop shops. The ranking of the largest online marketplaces in the country, based on gross merchandise value, is led by Amazon and Walmart by a wide margin. Amazon was founded in the .com era as an online alternative to bookstores. Not long after Amazon began achieving the retail dominance it currently enjoys, retail giant聽Walmart commenced e-commerce operations, launching Walmart Marketplace in 2009. As a consumer survey from 2025 confirmed, Amazon remains the most popular online shop in the U.S., followed by Walmart and Target.
Facilitating sales through third-party platforms
These marketplace behemoths operate with a combined marketplace/retailer model, with direct sales revenues coming from first-party sales and further revenue streams derived from third-party sales. Connecting shoppers with external sellers has proven to be a lucrative business. Amazon's annual revenue surpassed 700 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, with third-party seller services alone generating over 50 billion dollars per quarter. Such platforms are also well-established for C2C online sales. In the United States, consumer-to-consumer e-commerce is closely tied to eBay, whose annual revenue topped 11 billion U.S. dollars in its latest fiscal year. One company that has done especially well in satisfying the demand for artsy, crafty, and vintage products is Etsy, which had over 88 million聽active buyers as of the first quarter of 2025.
Chinese contenders shaking up the playing field
While mostly domestic players dominate American marketplaces online, Chinese marketplaces have carved out a significant foothold. A 2024 survey found that over half of U.S. online shoppers had purchased from Temu, with Shein and TikTok Shop also attracting sizable audiences. Shein's U.S. e-commerce sales reached around 20 billion dollars in 2025 and are projected to keep growing. Meanwhile, Temu's app downloads in the U.S., though off their 2023 peak, still numbered in the millions each month through early 2026.
Online marketplaces currently sit atop the e-commerce throne in the U.S., with Amazon crowned king of online retail. The rapid entry of Chinese platforms signals that the competitive landscape is far from settled, pushing established and emerging players alike to fight harder for American shoppers' attention.
