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Walmart is trying to make a move into more premium beauty categories because I think they've seen examples of, say, Target and its very successful partnership with Ulta Beauty for shop-in shops. And as Walmart has noted, they're seeing more higher-income customers coming into their stores over the past couple of years.

Despite high-profile investments in grocery and healthcare, the company has so far been unable to dominate those industries as it has in the ecommerce and cloud services sectors. Amazon recently overhauled its grocery business in a bid to grow its share of online grocery dollars and reduce supply chain costs, but Walmart still has a commanding lead.

Prime Big Deal Days exceeded Amazon鈥檚 expectations: While shoppers focused on cheaper essentials, the retailer showcased its supply chain capabilities.

For example, when popular YouTuber MrBeast launched his snacking brand Feastables in 2022, products were available both D2C and through Walmart.

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罢颈办罢辞办鈥檚 ecommerce efforts don鈥檛 have the momentum that some might have expected when reports about the Shopping Center first began surfacing. 罢颈办罢辞办鈥檚 usage as the starting point of product searches and research has actually declined over the past year, according to CivicScience. X: Advertisers remain dubious, even in the face of deep discounting. X is in a spot.

Consumers' definition of value is evolving as they demand not just the lowest prices, but quality and convenience too. Gen Z beauty shoppers prioritize innovation and sustainability over price, grocery shoppers seek high-quality products at lower prices, and high fees deter online purchases. Loyalty programs should be tailored to offer consumers the kind of rewards they want most, but not at the expense of brand identity. Here are five key stats to help brands understand what consumers value and stay competitive.

Amazon has a customer satisfaction problem: Shoppers complain of delayed deliveries, poor customer service, and irrelevant search results, dragging its satisfaction rating to a record low.

To boost D2C sales from its ecommerce website, Gatorade released a loyalty program that allows consumers to collect points for purchasing qualifying products in-store or online and by engaging, for example, by referring friends or subscribing to emails.

Amazon sits at the top of US ecommerce, accounting for 37.6% of sales this year, according to our forecast. In addition to generating billions of dollars in sales, Amazon鈥檚 ecommerce business propels its other ventures, including retail media and B2B ecommerce. By harnessing the power of generative AI, Amazon could leave its retail competition even further in the dust, and possibly catch up to the Google and Meta duopoly.

Despite its ecommerce dominance, Amazon will make up just 6.6% of US retail sales, per our forecast. Amazon鈥檚 retail share will grow to 7.0% in 2025 as more spending goes to ecommerce. Over the next two years, Amazon鈥檚 market share will increase in 8 out of 10 product categories, per our forecast.

As US mcommerce sales approach nearly half of total US online sales, marketers need to adopt mobile-first strategies that improve both the shopping and checkout experience. For those looking to boost adoption for their mobile shopping apps, banner ads are the best deal, though more interactive ad formats could become popular as retailers gamify their apps.

Go further: Read our US Retail Ecommerce Returns 2024 report.

Several retailers look to harness generative AI鈥檚 potential: Instacart, Walmart, and Levi Strauss are among those testing potential use cases for the emerging technology.

Walmart: No retailer comes close to challenging Amazon鈥檚 retail media dominance, but Walmart is working its way up the ladder.

Pride products are plentiful this year: Walmart, JCPenney, Kohl鈥檚, and Abercrombie push past the right-wing backlash to offer Pride-related products.

Walmart will net $2.22 billion in US digital ad revenues this year, per our forecast.

While Amazon lacks the store footprint and grocery business of competitor Walmart, it remains the dominant RMN in the US. Walmart: Last year we said Walmart was working its way up the retail media ladder, and this year it certainly has put in the work. Walmart will boost its US retail media ad revenues from $2.94 billion in 2023 to $3.72 billion this year, per our forecast.

Why it matters: Target鈥檚 US ecommerce growth (4.2% in 2024) is behind competitors Walmart (13.5%) and Amazon (11.5%), which use their unique value propositions to win over consumers. Walmart鈥檚 low prices and massive footprint give it an advantage in grocery. This year, Walmart Inc. will rake in $58.92 billion in US grocery ecommerce sales versus Target鈥檚 $8.10 billion, per our forecast.

It is now in the midst of redesigning its existing stores to increase selection and add elements such as in-store Krispy Kreme doughnut shops. The big challenge: If Amazon wants to present a serious challenge to Walmart, it needs to rapidly grow its physical footprint. It operates just 44 Amazon Fresh stores and around 500 Whole Foods locations.

Despite bankruptcy rumors, Carvana will be the fastest-growing retail ecommerce company in the US both this year and next year, according to our forecast. In second place this year is Chewy, signaling the strength of category-focused retailers.

The share of online purchases that shoppers return keeps rising: That鈥檚 a growing challenge for retailers seeking to rein in costs without hindering the customer experience.

BJ鈥檚 Wholesale Club is the latest retailer to launch a media network: At the same time, Instacart is adding more promotional capabilities to help drive sales among cost-conscious shoppers.