Growth Rate of America's 500 Largest Web Merchants Trounces That of Overall U.S. Retail Sales by a 4-to-1 Margin
North America's Top 500 e-retailers collectively reached $255.6 billion in 2013 global online sales, an annual growth rate of 17.11%, according to Internet Retailer's newly published 2014 Top 500 Guide®.
Apr 23, 2014, 09:00 ET
CHICAGO, April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Growth in online retailing continues to far outpace that of store-based retailing, with North America's 500 largest web merchants accounting for 87% of all e-retailing sales in the U.S., according to Internet Retailer's newly published 2014 Top 500 Guide®. Now in its 11th edition, the 448-page 2014 Top Guide® ranks the 500 leading e-retailers in the U.S. and Canada based on their annual web sales.
While 2013 total retail sales in the U.S. grew by 3.7%, reaching $3 trillion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, online retailing grew four times faster to $263 billion, up 16.9%. And once again, the Top 500 e-retailers spearheaded the charge, posting a 17.11% year-over-year gain and accounting for a 29.4% share of all U.S. retail sales growth. Two types of merchants stand out in the Top 500 rankings: the 197 web-only retailers which, even not counting Amazon.com, grew 21.0% and commanded 41.35% of the Top 500's total web sales, and the 159 retail chains, which grew 16.7% to $88.76 billion and accounted for nearly one-third of total Top 500 growth.
More analysis of the fastest-growing e-retailers by merchant type and merchandising category as well as trends in U.S. e-commerce can be found in the 2014 Top 500 Guide®. The Guide provides 263 data points for each retailer, including 28 brand-new metrics, such as the percentage of web sales each Top 500 web merchant receives from online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Updated elements for the 2014 edition include web traffic, conversion rates, browser satisfaction scores, search and e-mail marketing stats, and the solutions providers each retailer uses across 30 categories.
"Our award-winning team of researchers spent months gathering the complete financial, operating, web site performance and marketing data on each of the 500 leading web merchants selling online in the U.S. today," says Jack Love, Internet Retailer publisher. "This is mission-critical data for all retailers selling on the web, regardless of their size or merchant category. And only Internet Retailer delivers it."
The 448-page guide is now available in a digital version and all of its proprietary data can be accessed and customized by user preference through a subscription to Top500Guide.com, the world's largest online database of competitive e-commerce information.
For research information, contact Mark Brohan, vice president, research and product development, Internet Retailer, at 312.362.9535.
For media inquiries, contact Chaz McCrobie-Quinn, circulation manager, Internet Retailer, at 312.362.0107.
ABOUT INTERNET RETAILER®
The flagship brand of Vertical Web Media, Internet Retailer® provides comprehensive e-commerce business intelligence through print and digital channels, including a monthly magazine, several research guides, web sites, online databases and e-mail newsletters. Internet Retailer, launched in March 1999, is the largest monthly magazine in e-retailing with more than 44,000 subscribers. Launched in 2000 and completely revamped in 2010, InternetRetailer.com is the most visited informational web site in e-commerce. Featuring industry news that is updated daily, the site attracts more than 425,000 unique monthly visitors. IRNewsLink, an e-mail newsletter of daily e-commerce news, is sent out every weekday to more than 49,000 subscribers.
ABOUT VERTICAL WEB MEDIA
Vertical Web Media is a privately held, Chicago-based publisher that focuses on providing business intelligence for the e-commerce industry. Founded and led by journalists, the company aims to be the largest and most credible provider of objective business information on the market trends, technology, competitive practices and people shaping online retailing. Starting with Internet Retailer magazine, launched in 1999, Vertical Web Media has since introduced more than a dozen competitive data products and is now the largest publisher in e-commerce. Through its Internet Retailer® brand, the company operates a monthly magazine, two web sites, a daily e-mail newsletter, and 12 research guides—strategic content designed to equip e-commerce executives with the competitive data they need to help grow their online businesses.
SOURCE Vertical Web Media
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