The cross-border e-commerce industry is undergoing a major shake-up, with escalating competition between established leaders and emerging players. The SellerSprite team invested a month in compiling this Amazon 2024 Annual Report — leveraging Amazon quarterly financial report, third-party data platforms, and in-depth internal research — to empower sellers with actionable insights for strategic decision-making.
Global Cross-Border E-commerce Marketplace Landscape
Dominance of Major Platforms and Rise of Emerging Forces
In the current complex global economic environment, the e-commerce industry is undergoing profound changes, with the most notable feature being the slowdown in growth. Today, the growth rate of e-commerce is only half of what it was over the past decade, and the industry is gradually entering a "cooling period."
However, major platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, and emerging players like Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop are showing remarkable resilience and leadership, dominating the direction of e-commerce growth. The combined growth of Amazon, Walmart, Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop accounts for more than half of the total e-commerce growth.
In terms of market position and scale, Amazon remains the largest e-commerce platform in the U.S., with third-party seller sales projected to reach $325 billion in 2024. In contrast, eBay's U.S. sales are expected to reach $35 billion in 2024, continuing years of sluggish growth. Walmart’s third-party seller market share in the U.S. e-commerce industry is expected to exceed $10 billion in 2024.
Emerging markets are also showing significant potential. Temu has set a sales target of $60 billion for 2024, with 40% of its sales coming from the U.S. Despite operating in a retail-like manner and sourcing sellers primarily from China, its rapid growth is evident. TikTok Shop’s U.S. e-commerce business has set a goal of $17.5 billion for its first full year in 2024, although actual performance has fallen short of expectations. However, some sellers report that their performance has already surpassed that of Walmart.
Apart from offline retail and direct-to-consumer (DTC) models, only the aforementioned five platforms (across all markets) are expected to achieve or exceed $10 billion in sales. Amazon remains the largest, followed by Walmart. TikTok is rapidly becoming a major social e-commerce channel. eBay has returned to its second-hand resale business, and Temu primarily serves Chinese sellers, offering limited prospects for U.S. brands. Other platforms remain smaller or niche-focused and are unlikely to outperform these five major platforms unless they are in specialized markets that align with specific brands.
Amazon’s Growth Defies E-Commerce Slowdown
Despite the overall slowdown in the e-commerce sector and its entry into the so-called "winter phase," some companies have emerged as winners, maintaining profitability or achieving growth.
In this environment, Amazon has not only achieved record profits, with a third-quarter profit of $15.328 billion in 2024, a 55% increase from last year's $9.879 billion, but it has also increased its investments, further widening the gap between itself and other e-commerce companies.
In terms of product selection and delivery speed, Amazon stands out significantly from other e-commerce retailers. Amazon offers a wide variety of products, most of which can be delivered quickly. In contrast, Walmart’s online shopping experiences are often limited by slower delivery or fewer pickup options; eBay, although it has a large selection of products, does not have a high percentage of fast delivery options; platforms like Temu, AliExpress, and Shein, which ship from China, face longer delivery times; brand websites are limited by a smaller selection of products, making it difficult to compete with large e-commerce platforms. By leveraging its quick delivery advantage, Amazon has built a strong competitive moat, becoming the go-to platform for most consumers in a wide range of shopping scenarios.
TikTok Shop in the U.S.
TikTok Shop launched in the U.S. in 2023, and within just over a year, it achieved billions of dollars in sales, a remarkable achievement. However, its growth has also been accompanied by various challenges. On one hand, it has struggled to attract a large number of well-known brands, with most top sellers concentrated in niche areas like health and beauty, and primarily selling low-priced, unbranded products.
On the other hand, its shopping funnel differs from traditional e-commerce platforms, as it relies on a content and affiliate marketing model, with only a few brands mastering effective operational strategies.
Additionally, TikTok Shop's growth has not met expectations. Originally projected to reach $17.5 billion in sales by 2024, the actual figure is likely to fall short of half, around $8 billion. This is primarily due to the limited variety of products not fully meeting consumer demand, Western users' lower acceptance of the social commerce model, and both brands' and users' relatively low engagement with shopping content such as live streaming.
Competitive Landscape of E-commerce Platforms
There is a significant overlap in sellers and products between Amazon, Walmart, Temu, and Shein. More than 50% of Walmart sellers also sell on Amazon, with the actual figure likely closer to 80-90%. At least 20% of Shein and Temu sellers also sell on both Amazon and Walmart, with many being Chinese sellers with U.S. inventory.
Due to Amazon’s price parity requirement, sellers usually price their products similarly on Amazon and Walmart, while Temu and Shein benefit from lower fees and no advertising expenses, allowing them to offer lower prices. However, Amazon and Walmart have a competitive edge in product delivery speed.
In terms of product catalog, Amazon remains the largest, covering many products available on other platforms. Walmart’s product offerings are a subset of Amazon’s. Some of Temu’s brands overlap with Amazon and Walmart, while Shein has a unique advantage in fast-fashion clothing, with other products overlapping more with Temu. Additionally, the overlap between these platforms continues to increase.
Amazon Evolution & Trends
Amazon Global Expansion
On May 7, 2024, Amazon launched in South Africa, marking its first market in Sub-Saharan Africa, bringing the total number of Amazon’s active markets to 22. However, the expansion plan faced delays. For the past six years, Amazon had expanded into new markets every year, but in 2023, there were no new markets. The planned expansions into Colombia, Chile, and Nigeria were also put on hold.
Amazon Seller Ecosystem
According to Marketplace Pulse, in 2024, over 900,000 new sellers joined Amazon’s 22 markets, bringing the total number of new sellers in the past five years to over 4 million. Around one-third of these new sellers joined Amazon's US marketplace (Amazon.com).
Despite the influx of new sellers, not all sellers are successful on Amazon. Many new sellers never make any sales, and some stop operating after initial sales. However, some new sellers have stepped in to fill the gaps left by those who exit. Currently, more than half of Amazon's sales still come from sellers who have been on the platform for over five years. These sellers have built stable businesses through continuously updated products and brands.
Sellers on Amazon have long faced high fees, with most paying a higher percentage of their sales in fees each year. However, Amazon's dominance in the e-commerce market makes it hard for sellers to ignore the huge opportunities the platform offers. Despite the challenges, over 2,000 new sellers join Amazon every day, showing its continued attraction to cross-border e-commerce sellers.
Amazon Site Traffic and Sources
The US marketplace remains Amazon’s largest, accounting for 47.5% of its total global site traffic across 22 markets.
Markets such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Belgium have seen rapid development, with significant traffic growth compared to 2023. The US and India markets have also experienced some growth, maintaining a stable and continuously expanding presence. However, markets like Japan and Germany have seen traffic declines.
As of December 2024, traffic source data shows that 64.5% of users access amazon.com directly via desktop, indicating strong brand recognition and customer loyalty. About 25%-30% of users come from search engine referrals, showing the importance of SEO and advertising in driving traffic.
In contrast, referrals account for less than 10% of traffic, indicating that fewer users are visiting Amazon via external links. Social media’s share is also small, as users tend to engage more in social interactions than direct shopping. Display ads and email traffic are negligible, indicating that these channels are less effective at driving visits to Amazon’s website.
Amazon Shopping App
Since January 2015, the global monthly downloads of Amazon’s shopping app have risen dramatically, peaking at around 55 million downloads in December 2020. However, as the global e-commerce market booms, Amazon faces intense competition from emerging companies.
In 2024, Temu became the most downloaded shopping app globally, with downloads nearing 550 million, followed by Shein with about 235 million downloads, both posing challenges to Amazon. Despite fierce competition, Amazon maintains strong influence, especially in the US, where it is the second most-used shopping app among millennials.
Amazon Advertising Business
Amazon’s advertising revenue continues to grow, surpassing $50 billion in 2024, making it one of its most profitable businesses.
The growth in Amazon’s advertising revenue has both positive and negative impacts on sellers. On one hand, increased competition has raised operational costs for sellers, making it more difficult for new sellers to enter. On the other hand, advertising also provides opportunities for brand promotion, as sellers can use advertising data to optimize decisions, improve traffic, and enhance competitiveness.
In the past five years, Amazon’s advertising business has grown fivefold, and in the past decade, it has grown over 50 times. The success of Amazon's advertising business reflects the rise of retail media advertising. As consumers shift their shopping habits online, retail media advertising has gained favor with brands due to its direct consumer reach and ability to measure advertising effectiveness. This trend is expected to continue, with US retail media ad spending expected to surpass traditional TV ads by 2025, signaling the growing importance of retail media in the future advertising landscape, potentially reshaping the entire advertising industry.
Amazon AI Shopping Assistant
Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus, began internal testing in February 2024 and was made available to all US users in July. The feature, prominently placed in the app, is continuously improving. Initially providing only search result links, it now offers direct product recommendations, allowing users to complete purchases in just two steps. However, Rufus faces common AI issues, with its recommendations often not matching users’ actual needs.
AI has the potential to simplify the shopping process further by analyzing massive amounts of product information. In the future, it may even enable voice-based orders. But if AI interfaces gradually replace traditional search, platforms like Amazon and Google will hold greater control over the products users see, leading to significant changes in how sellers and brands operate. Traditional SEO may eventually be replaced by AI algorithm optimization.
Amazon Haul
To compete with platforms like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress, which offer low-priced products shipped directly from China, Amazon launched Amazon Haul in November 2024, a low-price marketplace offering products shipped from China.
Due to limited consumer awareness of this new section, sales were sluggish during the first two weeks after launch. To promote Haul, Amazon offered a 50% subsidy on products between November 21, 2024, and February 2, 2025. On Black Friday, Haul displayed discount banners on its app's homepage, triggering a sales surge. Hundreds of third-party sellers, mostly from China, sold thousands of products. By the next day, 2,700 products from Haul made it into Amazon's top 100 bestseller lists across various categories. Although most of these products were small items like pepper grinders and jewelry boxes, it showed strong sales momentum.
Even though Amazon offers up to 90% discounts, Haul’s sales are still low. Compared to Temu, Amazon Haul lags behind in terms of the number of sellers, product catalog size, and category coverage.
However, in January, the number of Haul products entering Amazon’s top 100 bestsellers increased to 4,200, surpassing the 2,700 seen on Black Friday and the previous level of fewer than 1,000. To increase revenue, Amazon introduced sponsored product ads for Haul in January, but due to the current pricing strategy, sellers are not very inclined to invest heavily in ads.
Amazon Pricing Strategy
With intense competition from Shein, Temu, and other low-price platforms, Amazon faces significant pricing pressure. To counter this, in January 2024, Amazon reduced its sales commission for apparel priced under $15 from 17% to 5%, and for those priced between $15 and $20, it lowered it to 10%. In March, Amazon also reduced its sales commissions in Europe, Canada, and Japan.
Amazon has stated that the reduction in apparel sales commissions has led to a significant year-over-year increase in apparel sales in the second quarter. Lower prices have boosted consumer purchases, resulting in higher overall sales despite lower product prices. This demonstrates that in a competitive market, low-price strategies can attract more customers.
In recent years, Amazon has focused on lowering fulfillment costs to offer more low-priced Prime products. However, seller fees have not been universally reduced, with some sellers’ fees continuing to increase. Sellers still need to consider the profitability of storing products in Amazon's warehouses, which to some extent affects the supply of low-priced products.
Sales Volume & Revenue Distribution Analysis
Amazon Net Sales and Profit
The three charts showing Amazon's net sales distribution from 2019 to 2024 provide a clear view of Amazon's development trends and structural features, categorized by business dimension and regional sales.
From a business perspective, Amazon's net income has grown year on year, from $280.5 billion in 2019 to $638 billion in 2024. The largest revenue stream comes from Online Stores, showing a positive upward trend with a projected $247 billion in 2024. Retail third-party seller services have shown significant growth, from $53.76 billion in 2019 to $156.1 billion in 2024. AWS (Amazon Web Services) has also steadily grown, reaching $107.5 billion in 2024. Physical stores' revenue has remained relatively stable, staying between $17-20 billion. Subscription services have also been gradually increasing.
The income distribution trend indicates that all business segments are growing, with AWS and Retail third-party seller services showing strong growth trajectories.
From a regional perspective, from 2020 to 2024, North America remains Amazon's core market, accounting for the largest share of sales, stabilizing at 60%-61%, and consistently growing to reach $387.5 billion in 2024. International market sales increased in 2021 but gradually declined, dropping to 22% in 2024. AWS sales have continuously grown, from $45.36 billion in 2020 to $107.5 billion in 2024.
Overall, in 2024, Amazon's net sales and net profits both saw a marked increase compared to 2023, with net profits growing particularly significantly. Amazon's total revenue reached $638 billion in 2024, up 11% year on year, while net profit was $59.2 billion, an increase of 94.7%.
Amazon's Major Markets Net Sales
The data from Amazon's major markets between 2014-2023 shows how Amazon's business growth and market distribution have evolved.
Over the past decade, Amazon's annual net sales have shown a significant upward trend, rising from a relatively low base in 2014 to nearly $600 billion in 2023, reflecting Amazon's rapid expansion and increasing market share.
In terms of market share, the US market (US) holds a dominant position, with the largest sales and the most significant growth. Its share has been prominent since 2014, underscoring its critical role as Amazon's core market.
Germany (DE), the UK (UK), and Japan (JP) also represent sizable markets with steady growth over the decade, though their growth rates are lower than that of the US, and their market share has remained relatively stable.
Other regions (Rest of World), although they account for a smaller share, have also shown growth over time. The height of these regions' bars has steadily increased, indicating that Amazon has made notable progress in expanding its market presence in global regions outside of the US.
The market distribution shift reveals that, while the US remains dominant, other markets’ share of sales is gradually rising, reflecting Amazon's diversification strategy on the global market.
Amazon Third-Party Sellers
Third-party sellers play an increasingly important role in Amazon. From a sales share perspective, since 2005, third-party sellers' share has been steadily increasing, growing from around 25% to 60% in Q3 of 2024. This reflects the growing importance of third-party sellers in Amazon's product sales, as well as the platform's rising attraction to them, contributing to the vibrant seller ecosystem.
Additionally, from Q1 2015 to Q3 2024, Amazon’s third-party seller services sales have continuously grown from a relatively low level, reaching significant levels by Q3 2024. This indicates that as the number of third-party sellers and their business volume increases, the demand for various services provided by Amazon (such as commissions, fulfillment, and shipping fees) has also risen. Third-party seller services have become a major revenue growth point for Amazon.
Amazon 2024 Prime Day
The 2024 Prime Day saw a wide range of promotional activities with distinct characteristics.
Brand usage of Prime Exclusive Discounts (PED) saw a significant increase, with over 40% of brands using this promotion type, a substantial rise from 21% in 2023. Coupons were the second most used promotion, with nearly 37% of brands opting for them. Brands continuously adjusted their promotional strategies to attract consumers and boost sales.
There were clear differences in discount rates across categories. On Prime Day 2024, electronics saw the largest discounts, with an average of 34%, while beauty and personal care products, tools, and home improvement products averaged 29%. This reflects how different categories have different promotional strategies and demonstrates varying price sensitivity among consumers across product categories.
From a consumer perspective, the distribution of purchases showed that clothing and footwear accounted for 27% of purchases, making them the most popular category for Prime members during the event. Home goods followed closely with 26%, indicating strong demand in everyday life-related categories during Prime Day.
Notably, brands that did not participate in Prime Day also benefited. In 2024, these brands experienced a 116% increase in sales and a 383% rise in orders compared to the previous 30 days, thanks to the high traffic and shopping activity during the event. Prime Day's powerful traffic boost created a favorable environment for brand sales on the platform, even for those brands not directly participating in the promotions.
4. Seller & Category Data Insights
Amazon US Sellers
Most Amazon US sellers focus on the domestic market, with less than 1% of sellers selling outside of North America. 12% of US sellers sell on Amazon Canada, and 5% sell on Amazon Mexico, primarily utilizing remote shipping services. In larger international markets such as Japan, Germany, and the UK, the proportion of US sellers is very small, and there is a low overlap between sellers in the US Amazon market and European markets.
The combined scale of Amazon's international markets in Europe, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Canada is on par with the US market, and Amazon holds a dominant position in these markets, presenting significant opportunities for cross-border sales. However, competition in these smaller international markets may be more intense, and individual sellers receive fewer visits compared to the US market. For example, traffic for UK sellers is only half of that on the US site.
Although Amazon promotes its 22 markets under a unified platform with shared services, cross-border trade across continents remains less active, with sellers mostly focused on their home or regional markets. European businesses stay rooted in Europe, Japanese companies focus on Japan, and US sellers predominantly operate within North America.
Amazon China Sellers
In 2024, Chinese sellers accounted for over 50% of the market share on Amazon, while US sellers' market share dropped to around 45%. The market share of Chinese sellers has steadily increased over the past decade, and in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February 2024, Amazon recognized the "significant" market share held by Chinese sellers.
Chinese sellers on Amazon generate hundreds of billions of dollars in sales, contributing substantially to Amazon’s revenue but also exposing the platform to regulatory and tariff risks. While Amazon’s fees are not affected by the seller's location, the influx of Chinese sellers has brought challenges for the US, such as concerns over employment, taxes, and product quality regulations. Similar issues are also present on other retail platforms like Walmart.
Regarding the market share of Chinese sellers on different Amazon sites, Mexico has the highest percentage, with 72%. Other European sites such as France (58.6%), Germany (58.4%), Italy (59.0%), and Spain (59.4%) have all surpassed 58%. On the US site, Chinese sellers account for 53.6%, representing a 21.4% year-on-year increase. Japan’s share is 52.0%, the UK’s is 49.7%, Brazil’s is 29.3% with the largest increase, and the UAE stands at 12.3%. The lowest share is in Australia, at 6.5%.
According to SellerSprite’s December 2024 and the second week of November 2024 sampling data, the US site remains the most popular among Chinese sellers, followed by Germany, the UK, and Canada. These data not only reflect the market distribution of Chinese sellers on Amazon but also offer valuable insights for sellers' business layout and strategic planning.
Sales Rankings of Various Sites
The sales rankings of the US, Germany, UK, and Canada sites, the most popular among Chinese sellers, are essential for understanding the competitiveness of products on these sites and the market segmentation.
These data help sellers clearly understand the market structure of different sites, providing insight into how products perform at various levels. This enables sellers to create targeted sales strategies, better define their target markets, optimize product placement, and enhance competitiveness on Amazon.
Most Popular Categories Among Chinese Sellers
The following are the most popular categories among Chinese sellers across the four major sites. Taking Amazon US as an example, Home & Kitchen is the most popular category, accounting for 36.2%, followed by Electronics at 12.2%, Kitchen & Dining at 7.0%, Beauty & Personal Care at 5.4%, Tools & Home Improvement at 4.4%, and Toys & Games at 3.5%. Other categories, such as Musical Instruments, Arts & Crafts, and Sewing, make up a very small percentage.
For sellers, these data serve as an important reference for choosing which categories to focus on. Sellers with the right resources and capabilities can consider entering popular categories to tap into their broad market potential, while those wishing to avoid intense competition can focus on categories with smaller shares but potential growth. By analyzing category popularity and average price, sellers can better position their products. For example, within the Home & Kitchen category, which is popular and moderately priced, sellers can offer a variety of products to meet the diverse needs of different consumer segments.
Regional Distribution of Chinese Sellers
The regional distribution of Chinese sellers shows clear clustering patterns and has multiple effects on these sellers.
From an industry cluster effect, provinces such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian, as well as cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou, are home to a concentration of sellers, forming complete industry clusters. New sellers can leverage the local mature supply chain system to obtain rich sources of goods at favorable prices, while also learning from the experiences of peers to improve their operational capabilities. However, the intense competition also drives sellers to constantly improve their product and service quality.
In terms of logistics and operations, regions with high seller concentrations have well-developed logistics infrastructure, lower logistics costs, and higher delivery efficiency, with numerous e-commerce service providers offering support, helping sellers improve operational efficiency.
Regarding talent and information exchange, these areas attract many e-commerce professionals, making it easier for sellers to recruit and build teams. The frequent industry events and information-sharing channels also help sellers stay updated on industry trends and adjust their business strategies.
For sellers in regions with fewer sellers, although resource acquisition may be more challenging, they can use differentiation strategies to exploit local products or advantageous supply chains, avoiding intense competition and finding their unique market position and development direction.
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