The Top 10 eCommerce Sites in the World 

People are moving away from brick-and-mortar storefronts as a result of the growth of internet purchasing platforms. 

By 2023, eCommerce will account for 22% of all worldwide retail sales, with more than $6.5 trillion in sales. 

Selling on one of the best eCommerce sites in the globe will be a wonderful option if you want to save costs and improve sales. Sellers may reach out to more clients in both local and international marketplaces. 

There are between 12 million to 24 million eCommerce sites worldwide. While some of these are dropshipping websites with $1,000-$5,000 in annual revenue, one of these sites is Amazon, the world’s largest internet company. Let’s us look into the different eCommerce sites to understand its importance.

What are eCommerce Sites?

By definition, an eCommerce website is one that enables you to purchase and sell physical goods, digital products, or services online. 

It’s a business concept that incorporates online sales transactions. This format is followed by almost every online shopping website, large or small. 

Basically, eCommerce websites are places where you can make purchases over the internet.

Top 10 eCommerce Sites to Explore

In this section, we will review some of the best eCommerce platforms in existence:

1. Amazon

Amazon is an American technology company founded in 1994. The company initially started as an online marketplace for books. However, Amazon has grown to become the world’s largest retail chain. 

According to Statista, Amazon had up to 2.4 billion visits (mobile and desktop) in May 2022, and it is by far the most visited eCommerce site in the US. 

Apart from the US, Amazon is also operational in 19 other countries, which are Australia, Austria, China, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, UAE, UK, and Singapore.  

Amazon, in addition to being the world’s largest retailer, is also the world’s largest internet firm, with interests in cloud computing, digital entertainment, and live-streaming via Twitch.

Features

Some of the features of Amazon include the following:

Amazon Business

Apart from being a B2C (business-to-consumer) marketplace, Amazon is also a B2B (business-to-business) marketplace through Amazon Business. Amazon Business gives sellers the opportunity to reach B2B customers with pricing, and the features of Amazon Business are designed for businesses of all sizes. 

Amazon FBA 

Fulfillment by Amazon is a service by Amazon that allows sellers to outsource their order fulfillment to Amazon. Amazon FBA operates using the dropshipping model.  

Heads Up!

Want details about different Amazon Sellers tools and how they can help your business, then head to our category section ‘Amazon Seller tools and services.’

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• As one of the most commonly visited eCommerce sites in the world, Amazon has a large customer base which is great for sellers. With Amazon, you have access to customers who are ready to purchase. 
• When you sell on Amazon, you can take advantage of Amazon’s brand recognition.
• Amazon is very easy to use. 
• Marketing on Amazon is cheap. You don’t need to spend on content marketing when selling with Amazon. The platform can be compared to a search engine in the sense that it indexes the different sellers to help buyers get what they’re looking for.

Cons 

• Amazon doesn’t allow you to build a brand. Prices, product categories, and average customer ratings are used by Amazon to index pages. With Google Shopping, the seller’s page is indexed, while with Amazon, the products’ page is indexed. 
• With over 2.4 million sellers, the competition on Amazon is high. If you are going to make sales on Amazon, you need to create an effective marketing strategy. 
• It is expensive to sell on Amazon. With a subscription-based selling fee as well as referral fees on every item sold, Amazon is not cheap to sell on. 

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2. eBay

eBay is an American eCommerce company that was established in 1995. They are the world’s leading consumer-to-consumer marketplace as well as one of the world’s leaders in business-to-consumer retail. 

eBay delivers to about 190 countries and territories around the world. They also have about 138 million buyers around the world. 

Buyers don’t need to pay any transaction fees on eBay. However, it is quite different for sellers as they have to pay for listing items on the eCommerce platform.  

Features

Listing Items

You sell on eBay by simply registering on the platform and simply listing items. The first 250 listings are free, and after that, there’s a non-refundable insertion fee of $0.35 per listing. 

Buy-It-Now 

eBay started as an auction platform. In addition to the auction feature, they added the Buy-It-Now feature, which allows sellers to fix a price listing their items. Sellers can also set the Buy It Now price on their auction-style listings. 

The price is set higher than the auction price and allows the buyer to purchase the items right away. 

eBay Advanced Search

The eBay advanced search allows buyers to narrow their search to search range, number of bids, price range, and currency of the sale. 

Find out more!

If you are an eBay Seller looking to maximize your profits, then visit our category page ‘eBay Sellers tools and services‘ to learn about the tools that can help you operate your business effectively.

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• eBay sellers can reach a vast audience. With over 138 million buyers across the world, there is a large market on eBay. 
• eBay is widely trusted and popular among buyers hence selling on eBay allows you to key into the popularity of eBay. 
• It is an easy-to-use platform for both buyers and sellers. 
• eBay is very inexpensive to use. You can list up to 250 products for free every month. And you are only charged the final value fee when your products have sold.  

Cons

• It is a very competitive marketplace. Almost every item is sold on eBay, and many of these items share similar characteristics. As a result, sellers must implement different pricing strategies to attract buyers.
• Sellers have to pay for the different additional services such as a bold listing, a larger gallery, listing in two categories, and scheduled listing.   

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3. AliExpress

AliExpress is an eCommerce platform owned by the Alibaba group. It was founded in 2010 in China. AliExpress is a B2C marketplace. 

The sellers are mostly from China, and the target market is international buyers. AliExpress does not sell to customers in Mainland China. The website has translations into 18 languages, including English, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. 

Features

• AliExpress is available in 18 languages.
• AliDropship is a plugin on Woocommerce and WordPress that facilitates dropshipping from AliExpress.
• AliExpress University offers learning resources to new sellers on AliExpress.  

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• AliExpress is cheaper than most other eCommerce sites. If you are a dropshipper, you discover that AliExpress is home to the cheapest prices. 
• Low Overhead Cost. AliExpress helps you to reduce your overhead costs as a dropshipper. They help you to ship directly to customers such that you don’t have to worry about inventory management.

Cons

• AliExpress has a problem with shipping times. Ideally, their shipping takes between 15 days and 2 months. However, some customers have complained bitterly about the very late delivery of their items. 
• Refunds and Returns. Getting issues resolved on AliExpress can be quite hectic. Making returns on AliExpress can sometimes take months, and certain customers have complained about not even getting their refunds. 

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4. Target

Target was established in 1962 in Minneapolis as the discount division of Dayton’s Department Store. The store has grown to become one of the largest retailers in the United States, with about 1,938 stores. 

They also ventured into eCommerce with the acquisition of Shipt, which was a grocery delivery startup in 2017. The acquisition of Shipt allowed Target to facilitate same-day delivery. 

With the presence of Target App and target.com, Target is slowly gaining ground as an eCommerce platform. 

Features

• Free Contactless Pickup. Through the Target App, Target customers can order items and receive them on the same day for free. 
• Target RedCard™ is a debit or credit card that grants you a discount of 5% whenever you shop on or at Target. 

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• Target is a one-stop shop for customers. They sell products of all categories, from groceries to household items to electronics. Buyers can reduce their delivery costs by ordering all their needs from Target. 
• Same-Day Delivery. Target offers same-day delivery for $9.99. 
• Drive Up. By using the Target App, buyers can get their orders delivered to the trunks of their cars when they select Drive Up as their delivery option. 

Cons

• Target groceries are slightly more expensive than Walmart’s.
• Target doesn’t have any presence in the International Market. Even though they share the same logo with Target Australia, both companies have no business relationship. 

5. Walmart

Walmart is an American multinational retail chain launched in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. They presently operate about 10,500 stores and clubs in about 24 countries, in addition to a number of eCommerce sites. 

Walmart operates in the 50 States of the US and Puerto Rico under different banners such as Supercenter, Discount Stores, and Neighborhood Market. 

Walmart is also establishing itself as an eCommerce giant. Their website walmart.com receives about 100 million visitors. They have also acquired a couple of eCommerce sites, such as jet.com and hayneedle.com. 

Due to the combination of their offline and online operations, Walmart is the second-largest retail chain in the world, only behind Amazon. 

Features

• Walmart Marketplace. It is a service by Walmart in collaboration with Shopify to allow sellers to offer their products on Walmart. To use Walmart Marketplace, sellers should download Walmart App on the Shopify App Store. 
• Walmart Fulfillment Services is a fulfillment service for Walmart Marketplace users. 

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• You can sell any product at Walmart as long as such items are not on Walmart’s prohibited product list. There is no limit to the assortment of your products. 
• Unlike Amazon, Walmart only charges seller fees when your products are purchased. The referral fees differ based on the product category. 
• Walmart allows its sellers to create their own return policy. This helps sellers create conditions that are favorable for their business. 
• Walmart is a one-stop shop for buyers, as products of every kind are available at Walmart.
• There is reduced competition with Walmart. With only about 70,000 sellers, the competition on Walmart Marketplace is nowhere close to Amazon, where there are over 2 million sellers. 

Cons

• Walmart has a Price Parity Rule which means sellers cannot offer the same product for lower prices on other eCommerce platforms. 
• As there is a smaller number of sellers, there is also a smaller number of shoppers at Walmart. 
• Walmart Fulfillment Services is very limited in its operations. 

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6. Alibaba.com

Alibaba.com was launched in 1999, and it has grown to become one of the world’s leading B2B marketplaces. Buyers are located in over 190 countries and territories, and sellers are located in over 200 countries. 

Alibaba offers millions of products from over 40 product categories.

Features

Some of the features available on Alibaba.com include

• B2B Marketplace. The major sellers on Alibaba are manufacturers, wholesalers, trading companies, and exporters. 
• Storefront. Sellers can create storefronts on Alibaba without needing technical skills.
• Translation is available in 18 languages on Alibaba to allow sellers to converse with a global buyer base. 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• As a buyer business, you have access to thousands of sellers from over 200 countries. 
• Due to a large number of sellers, buyer businesses can get more flexible conditions such as lower minimum order thresholds. 

Cons

• Shipping takes longer on Alibaba than on other eCommerce sites. It takes between 15 days to months. 
• There is no dropshipping support for Alibaba. 
• As a buyer making a wholesale purchase from an oversea business, Alibaba does not provide a way to conduct an on-site visit before you make a visit. 
• Sellers need a subscription plan before they can sell on Alibaba. The Basic Plan costs $2,399 per year, and the Premium plan costs $4,199 per year. 

7. Rakuten

Rakuten Ichiba is the largest eCommerce platform in Japan and the third largest in the world. Apart from eCommerce, the Rakuten Group also runs about 70 businesses with over 1.2 billion customers across the world.

Rakuten Ichiba has a customer base of about 117 million, which is about 87% of the entire Japanese population. Since its inception in 1997, Rakuten has held a strong grip on the Japanese eCommerce market beating out the global competition.  

Features

• Rakuten Point. Rakuten’s loyalty program, which the company started in 2002, has issued over $2 billion worth of Rakuten Points.
• Rakuten Marketplace is a feature that grants overseas sellers access to Rakuten Ichiba. 

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• Rakuten is easy to use. Through the Rakuten App, or rakuten.com or Rakuten browser extension. 
• Rakuten has a referral program that gives customers $25 per referral. 
• Rakuten Cashback allows customers to get cash back when they shop at different online stores using the Rakuten App or the Rakuten browser extension. 

Cons

• Rakuten is quite an expensive platform to use as a seller. You have to pay product fees, commission, and subscription. The subscription costs $39 per month, and the listing fee is $0.099 per item. 
• Rakuten allows only sellers with a US or Japanese presence. 

8. JD.com

JD.com also known as Jingdong in China and Joybuy internationally is a Chinese eCommerce platform founded in 2004. 

It is one of the largest online marketplaces in China, and it is rivaled by Alibaba’s Tmall. 

Features

Features of JD.com include

• JD Logistics is renowned in the eCommerce industry for its level of technological advancement. Apart from being an eCommerce store, JD.com also provides warehousing solutions for small and mid-sized businesses. 
• JD Marketplace. It is also possible for foreign sellers to sell their goods in the Chinese market on JD.com. JD helps the sellers sort out the complex authorization procedure from the Chinese government. 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• JD.com is a very effective way of reaching Chinese consumers. The company helps foreign sellers sort out the complex procedure of importing into China. 
• Selling on JD.com is made easy with JD Marketplace on Shopify. 

Cons

• Setting up shop on JD.com can take between 6-12 months. It is a very cumbersome process. 
• It has very low ratings and poor reviews on TrustPilot, and SiteJabber. 

9. Newegg

Newegg is an American eCommerce site that deals in the retail of computer hardware and consumer electronics. It was founded in 2001 and quickly became a popular online retailer of PC components. 

It has since grown to become the leading tech-focused eCommerce platform in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East. 

Features

Newegg Creator 

Newegg created a community of tech content creators. Members of the community review new tech products, share the latest trends in tech devices with their followers, and partner with Newegg to get their content featured on the Newegg website.

Newegg PC Builder

Newegg allows you to build your own computer by purchasing all the needed components at a discount.

Newegg Marketplace

Newegg provides a platform for sellers to increase their sales with Newegg Marketplace. 

Newegg Logistics

Newegg also provides third-party logistics (3PL) services, as well as fulfillment services to B2B and B2C services. 

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• There is a large collection of items available on Newegg. They provide everything from computers to computer parts, gaming hardware to networking hardware, and office electronics to household electronics. As long as it is a tech product, it is available on Newegg. 
• You can find some incredible deals on Newegg either through Today’s Best Deals or Best Sellers on Newegg. 

Cons 

• In the past, Newegg was the seller, with no allowance for third-party sellers. With Newegg Marketplace, third-party sellers can now sell on the site, but there have been some issues, such as unreliable vendors.
• Expensive Prices. The prices of items on Newegg is quite on the high side. 

10. Mercado Libre

Mercado Libre is the biggest eCommerce company in South America. As of 2016, they had over 170 million users.

The company, which was founded in Buenos Aires in 1999, is now headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. Mercado Libre (or Mercado Livre in Portuguese) is currently operational in 16 countries, including Spain and Mexico.

Features

Global Selling

With the Global Selling feature, you can sell on Mercado Libre from any part of the world. It allows you to sell in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, and Colombia with a single account, while you can collect your order in USD. Mercado Envios will help you with warehousing and logistics services. 

Mercado Pago

This is the payment solution of Mercado. 

Mercado Shops

With Mercado Shops, sellers can create their eCommerce stores and enjoy the services of Mercado Envios. It is free to set up, there is no subscription plan or activation plan. 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Mercado Shops is free to set up. 
• The Mercado Libre ecosystem facilitates every important aspect of eCommerce.

Cons

• Only the Latin American market is targeted by Mercado Libre. There is no comparison with other platforms with a global reach, like AliExpress or Amazon. 

Conclusion

In this post, we have reviewed 10 of the best eCommerce sites in the world. These eCommerce platforms vary based on their reach however, they have all been able to achieve international repute. 

For example, Target is targeted toward the US market, Rakuten is targeted toward the Japanese market, and Mercado Libre is targeted toward the Latin American market. 

What are your thoughts on this post? Have you used any of these platforms before? Let’s get your thoughts in the comment section.