Amazon AMZN has been considered the U.S. e-commerce king for years now, but the internet behemoth's share of the domestic online shopping market soared to new highs in 2017, according to retail analytics firm One Click Retail.
Indeed, One Click's newest latest estimates suggest that Amazon accounted for 44% of total U.S. e-commerce sales last year. That represents about $200 billion in e-commerce revenues, or about 4% of total U.S. retail sales. One Click estimates online sales through website indexing, machine learning, and in-house software.
One Click also estimated that consumer electronics was Amazon's top-selling product category with $8.5 billion in revenues on the year. Electronics was followed by home & kitchen ($5.5 billion), publishing ($5 billion), and sports & outdoor ($4 billion). The company's top-growing category was luxury beauty, which soared 47% year-over-year to hit $400 million in sales.
Amazon can point to several key factors for its remarkable growth, says One Click Retail. The firm notes that the company's sophisticated marketing program has helped marketplace sellers boost sales, while its own private-label brands and products have also notched impressive growth.
One Click also mentioned that millennials, a marquee demographic for Amazon, are getting older and have more disposable income. Millennials are now 20 to 36 years-old, meaning that many of them are starting to buy homes and have children.
This gives Amazon a great opportunity to cash in on an audience that is already familiar with its platform. One Click said that millennials contributed "the bulk" of Amazon's estimated $5.5 billion in home and kitchen sales, which witnessed a 20% year-over-year increase. The firm also said that millennials were the foundation of Amazon's 33% growth in furniture sales.
The analytics firm also took a look at the effect of Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods on the company's revenue picture. One Click said that sales of consumable products-like groceries, beauty items, and pet supplies-were already growing at a rate of 35% before the deal. That growth reportedly accelerated after the deal closed.
In the months that Whole Foods' "365 Everyday Value" brand was available on Amazon.com, the label brought in about $10 million. Meanwhile, AmazonBasics generated about $400 million in sales over the course of the year, One Click estimates.
Amazon is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The stock has gained about 57% over the past year.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
