Amazon is set to overtake Walmart as largest retailer

By Aine Cain

Walmart’s not the only retail giant in town anymore. In fact, one market research study found that Amazon is on track to overtake its Arkansas-based competitor in terms of gross market value within the next few years.

A study from Edge by Ascential calculated that Amazon’s gross market value will reach $631.6 billion by 2025, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% between 2020 and 2025. That means that the digitally native powerhouse is set to eclipse Walmart as the largest retailer in the United States. Walmart’s gross market value is slated to rise to $523.3 billion by 2025, a CAGR of 3.9%.

As a brick-and-mortar native, Walmart has long trailed behind Amazon in terms of its e-commerce capabilities. In fact, Walmart started an overhaul of its online capabilities — known internally as Project Glass — to improve its digital fulfillment performance. Still, the company has leveraged its huge physical footprint to become a major contender in terms of online sales. But the Edge study found that this likely won’t be enough to catch Amazon.

All in all, the estimates from Retail Insight indicate the staying power of e-commerce. The report found that 29% of total chain retail sales will come from e-commerce by 2025 and that online sales in the US alone will increase over $1 trillion by then.