Amazon now has a market share of more than 30% of the UK’s ecommerce market, up from 28.8% in 2018, according to research from Edge by Ascential, which also rates the UK as the world’s third largest ecommerce market, behind China and the US.
With sales in excess of $30billion this year, Amazon is way out in front of the next closest rivals eBay, which has 9.8% market share. Supermarket giants Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda – owner Walmart – followed with 4.6, 4.5 and 3.9% respectively. Completing the top five was John Lewis, with a 3.6% share of the UK’s e-commerce market.
“UK retailers are under serious pressure to revolutionise their omnichannel experience in 2020,” says Edge by Ascential director Nick Everitt. “This is all the more crucial as pure-play online platforms such as Amazon and eBay continue to expand and dominate in the UK market, driving third party operations that give greater control to brands selling on the platform but open up fierce competition and require care and attention from those selling in the marketplace.”
He continues: “Finding the right balance between a sophisticated online offering and an engaging in-store presence is a key aspect to sustaining success. However, it’s important that retailers focus on their entire offering across the supply chain in order to meet the needs of consumers, whilst preparing in advance for impending challenges like Brexit along the way.”
