32 Amazon Statistics Sellers Need to Know in 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management.
Amazon is the leading online retailer worldwide, and selling on Amazon is a lucrative venture for many independent sellers. We’ve gathered more than 30 Amazon statistics that can help you start your Amazon business or take your existing Amazon store to the next level.
Amazon Statistics Overview
1. Amazon is forecast to reach $746.22 billion in sales in 2023
According to eMarketer, Amazon will continue to dominate the online retail space, generating $746.22 billion in global retail ecommerce sales this year. It remains larger than all 14 of its closest competitors, accounting for 37.8% of the US ecommerce retail market.
2. Amazon earned $514 billion in 2022
Amazon’s net sales increased by 9% in 2022 to $514 billion—compared to $469.8 billion in 2021. An increase in North American sales more than offset a decrease in international sales due to changes in foreign exchange rates.
3. Amazon is the most visited online marketplace in the US
Amazon gets 2 billion monthly visits in the US alone, almost triple the monthly visits of eBay, which trails behind at second place with close to 700 million monthly visits. Of the traffic to Amazon, 38% comes from the US.
4. Amazon has more than 300 million active users
According to Amazon, there are more than 300 million active customer accounts worldwide. Its selling partners exceed 1.9 million. Selling partners get access to consumers in more than 180 countries. More than 200,000 sellers joined in 2020, a 45% increase from the year prior.
How People Shop on Amazon
5. More than half of US consumers start their product searches on Amazon
When searching the internet for products, most consumers start on Amazon. Amazon is the most popular search destination for consumers (61%)—above search engines (49%), Walmart (32%), YouTube (20%), and Facebook (19%).
What is more interesting is that 88% of consumers who last shopped at Amazon started their next purchase journey at the Amazon website, instead of starting with search engines. This is highly indicative that most Amazon buyers don’t look anywhere else.
6. Online shoppers prefer to purchase at Amazon because of product range and availability
The top reason US consumers shop at Amazon is that they can find everything they need from the website (66%), followed closely by receiving free shipping because of Prime membership (56%).
7. Consumers prefer Amazon over Walmart.com for most nonessential product categories
According to Jungle Scout’s report, consumers prefer Amazon over Walmart.com for most nonessential product categories—while they prefer Walmart.com over Amazon for essential items like baby products, cleaning supplies, groceries, and over-the-counter medicine.
Consumers prefer to buy from Amazon over any other retailer (online and in-store) in the following categories: Arts, Crafts and Sewing, Automotive Parts and Accessories, Books, Magazines and Newspapers, Electronics, Exercise/Fitness Supplies, and Office Supplies.
8. About 65% of Amazon customers shop from their desktops
Even with the increased usage of mobile apps, 64.9% of those who shop at Amazon do so over their desktop computers or laptops, whereas only 16.6% reported shopping from the mobile website and 13.6% reported shopping on the app. However, Amazon reports that it sees more than 42 million monthly unique desktop users in the US versus more than 126 million mobile visitors.
9. Nearly 50% of consumers shop on Amazon at least once a week
A Jungle Scout report from 2022 found that 48% of shoppers purchase something from Amazon at least once a week, and they tend to spend more, too. In fact, 57% of consumers say they would spend over $50 on Amazon versus 41% on Walmart. Fifty-one percent would pay over $100 for a single item from Amazon.
10. Amazon’s customer service is the leading driver for customer retention
A majority (90%) of consumers are satisfied with Amazon’s customer service, with 33% stating that its rapid response to complaints and order issues is the best part of Amazon’s customer service experience.
11. More than 40% of shoppers always read product reviews before making an Amazon purchase
A recent survey shows that 41% of consumers always read product reviews before making a purchase on Amazon, with another 38% of consumers often reading reviews before purchasing on the platform.
Unfortunately, fake reviews are a growing cause of concern for Amazon buyers, and only 31% of consumers strongly trust Amazon product listing reviews, which is down slightly from 33% in 2019.
12. Most shoppers complete their purchase in under 15 minutes
Per Amazon, half of all purchases are completed in under 15 minutes. Some happen faster—as many as 28% of purchases finish in under three minutes. This shows the importance of creating a smooth checkout experience if you want to compete.
13. 17% of consumers plan to use Amazon Go for gifts in Q4 2022
According to one Jungle Scout survey, Amazon Go or Amazon Go Grocery is the third most popular in-store channel for gift shopping in Q4 2022. Of those surveyed, 17% plan to use one or both of these services for their shopping needs. More than half (56%) and 29% plan to shop for gifts from Walmart and Target, respectively.
14. Amazon is the most popular online sales channel for gifts in 2022
The same survey found that Amazon was the top online sales channel for gift shopping in Q4 2022. An overwhelming 67% said they planned to purchase gifts online from Amazon. Walmart is in the No. 2 spot, though just 36% of consumers planned to purchase gifts via its online shopping channels in Q4 2022.
15. 80% of Cyber Week shoppers planned to shop on Amazon
Amazon was the top choice for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping for 80% of consumers in 2022. Target and Walmart came in next with 51% and 50%, respectively. Other stores include Kohl’s (28%), Best Buy (26%), Old Navy (19%), Costco (18%), and Macy’s (18%).
Popular Amazon Products & Categories
16. The most popular categories for Amazon sellers are Home & Kitchen, Beauty & Personal Care, and Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry
Jungle Scout’s 2023 State of the Amazon Seller Report lists the top 10 most popular categories in Amazon, with the percentage of sellers who have listings for them.
Amazon Product Categories | Percentage of Amazon Sellers that list items per category |
|---|---|
Home and Kitchen | 35% |
Beauty and Personal Care | 26% |
Clothing, Shoes, and Jewelry | 20% |
Toys and Games | 18% |
Health, Household, and Baby Care | 17% |
Sports and Outdoors | 16% |
Baby | 16% |
Electronics | 16% |
Arts, Crafts, and Sewing | 14% |
Books | 14% |
17. Some of the most popular categories on Amazon also have the most profitable sellers
According to Jungle Scout, the average profit margin of Amazon SMB sellers is 21%. The most profitable categories (making 21% net margin and up) are the following:
- Beauty and Personal Care: 30% of sellers
- Home and Kitchen: 30% of sellers
- Clothing, Shoes, and Jewelry: 27% of sellers
- Arts, Crafts, and Sewing: 23% of sellers
- Electronics: 22% of sellers
- Sports and Outdoors: 21% of sellers
- Health, Household, and Baby Care: 21% of sellers
- Toys and Games: 20% of sellers
- Grocery and Gourmet Food: 19% of sellers
- Cellphone and Accessories: 17% of sellers
However, it’s important to note that while some categories are more popular than others, each category has profitable subcategories. There are also more opportunities (and less competition) in some of the least popular categories. For example, handmade goods has among the highest number of profitable sellers.
Find out what products to sell on Amazon.
Amazon Seller Statistics
18. There are nearly 2 million third-party sellers in Amazon—mostly small and midsize businesses (SMBs)
Amazon lists nearly 2 million SMBs as third-party (3P) sellers. In 2020, Amazon invested $18 billion in selling partner success, including logistics and tools like Brand Follow and Stores that allow sellers to connect directly to millions of customers.
With Amazon absorbing the increased costs (surcharge and fee changes) brought about the pandemic, roughly 3,700 sellers were still added daily to its roster in 2021.
19. Most Amazon 3P sellers are profitable
Despite inflation, 89% of Amazon sellers are profitable, with more than half earning profit margins higher than 15%. Around 37% said they saw higher profits in 2022.
According to a 2021 SMB report, Amazon sellers in the US sold 7,400 products every minute between September 2020 and August 2021, averaging about $200,000 in sales—a year-over-year increase from $170,000.
And according to Amazon itself, in the 12 months ending on May 31, 2020, US-based SMB sellers earned an average of over $160,000 in sales—an increase from approximately $100,000 the previous year. SMB sellers that exceeded $1 million in sales grew by more than 20% in the same period.
3P sellers started in 1999 and now account for 58% of Amazon’s sales.
As an Amazon seller, you need to know about Amazon fees. Learn the cost of selling on Amazon.
20. Online stores on Amazon earned $222 billion in net revenue in 2022
Online stores on Amazon earned $222 billion in net revenue in 2022. To compare, retail third-party seller services rang in at $117.72 billion, and physical stores earned $18.96 billion in the same year.
21. 55% of Amazon sellers make more than $5,000 per month in sales
More than half of Amazon sellers have more than $5,000 in monthly sales, with 16% hitting $10,000 to $25,000 in sales per month. About 47% of SMBs on Amazon have reached lifetime sales of more than $100,000.
22. A majority of 3P sellers are self-starters
The majority (58%) of 3P sellers spend less than $5,000 to start their Amazon business, and 25% spend less than $1,000. Most of these self-starters use their hard-earned money for funding—77% at least partially funded their businesses with their own cash.
Thirty-nine percent of Amazon sellers describe themselves as “digital nomads,” while 38% are employed full time. Most sellers manage their Amazon businesses within fewer than 20 hours per week.
23. Nearly 90% of Amazon sellers use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
Amazon FBA is the most popular fulfillment method, preferred by 86% of third-party sellers. Many sellers also opt to handle their own fulfillment, or FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant).
24. 54% of Amazon sellers create their own product and brand with the private label model
Among Amazon 3P sellers, private label is the most common sales model, with 54% creating their own label or brand. Buying and selling wholesale, which came in second, trailed at 26%.
25. 60% of Amazon sales are products from SMBs
Of Amazon store sales, 60% are products from SMBs. Cumulatively, they sell more than 4,000 products per minute.
26. It usually takes three months for Amazon sellers to set up a fully functioning Amazon store
The majority of sellers (70%) have been able to get a fully functioning business store on Amazon within just three months, and most manage their business with fewer than 20 hours per week.
27. Rising costs are the most common concern for SMBs in 2023
The increasing cost of goods (46%), inflation (36%), and an impending recession (29%) are among the top external challenges SMB sellers face in 2023, JungleScout reports. It is estimated that one in two Amazon sellers was affected by the economic downturn in deciding to start a business.
28. 83% of Amazon sellers offer Prime shipping
Fast and free shipping is a key benefit for Prime membership. As many as 83% of Amazon sellers offer Prime shipping to customers.
Amazon Prime Statistics
29. There are more than 200 million Amazon Prime members worldwide
Amazon Prime has more than 200 million subscribers worldwide. Most—172 million—are in the US.
30. More than half of Amazon Prime Members spend more than $100 a month on Amazon
Prime spending is increasing each year, with the majority of members (58%) now spending more than $100 per month on Amazon. Elite buyers, those spending more than $200 each month on Amazon, more than doubled to 27% in 2021.
31. Amazon Prime Day remains to be the membership’s most popular perk
In 2021, 84% of Prime members and 88% of heavy spenders planned to participate in Amazon Prime Day—proof that it is the most highly awaited event among its members. Prime Video is also a popular membership benefit. Two-thirds of Tinutiu survey respondents use Prime Video now and 29% plan to watch more in the future.
32. Just over a third of members took advantage of Amazon Prime Day in 2022
According to Jungle Scout, most consumers didn’t take advantage of deals offered on Amazon Prime Day, which was held in October. Only 34% shopped deals on that day, even though most (78%) planned to start holiday shopping earlier this year than previous years and take advantage of Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) deals from other retailers.
Bottom Line
We continue to be impressed with Amazon’s staggering statistics. What makes it more impressive is that even with the abundance of sellers on the platform, a majority continue to operate and remain profitable, even expanding their businesses to other platforms. On top of that, there is still room for budding retailers to start selling.
Orient yourselves with these Amazon statistics we have provided to help plan for the launching of your Amazon store.
