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TikTok鈥檚 potential ban isn鈥檛 putting brands off TikTok Shop: The platform鈥檚 sales potential is driving companies like Rare Beauty and Tarte Cosmetics to deepen their investment.

Some 57% of US consumers started their online shopping searches on Amazon as of Q2 2023, according to Jungle Scout. That鈥檚 more than those who started on a search engine (42%), the Walmart website (39%), or TikTok (17%).

While our forecast projects the retailer鈥檚 US Amazon Business division will account for just 2.3% of US B2B ecommerce site sales this year, that鈥檚 still a $43.05 billion business, which is why it is looking to expand into more international markets in Europe and elsewhere.

However, over the long term it needs to find ways to improve the experience it delivers to shoppers to avoid losing sales to mass merchants like Amazon, Walmart, and Costco.

Beyond the chart: Total sales share figures tell a different story. Amazon will once again hold first place by a wide margin in 2023, with 37.6% of US retail ecommerce sales compared with the 6.4% of No. 2 Walmart Inc. Amazon has lost share since last year, but that will change in 2024, when its share will increase to 38.0%. More like this:.

We expect Uber Eats鈥� restaurant sales to grow 10.8% this year, while grocery sales will rise even faster at 14.8%. DoorDash, meanwhile, will see its share of grocery delivery intermediary sales rise to 12.6% this year, in addition to accounting for over half the restaurant delivery market. Go further: Check out our Data Drop: 5 Charts on Digital Dining Habits.

Amazon takes on Swiggy and Flipkart in India: The retailer will begin testing a 15-minute rapid delivery service in Bangalore.

The lipstick effect may not be fading after all: Despite Ulta鈥檚 slowdown warning, L鈥橭r茅al鈥檚 North American sales rose 12.3% in Q1, and Sephora鈥檚 business has been 鈥減retty strong.鈥�

The big takeaway: US online marketplace sales will grow 12.7% this year, according to our forecast鈥攁 significantly faster clip than overall US ecommerce sales (8.2%) and overall retail sales (2.8%).

While Amazon recently announced it was shuttering dozens of its house brands, that reflects its own unique circumstances. The retail giant is in the midst of a massive cost-cutting push as a means of responding to the US Federal Trade Commission鈥檚 investigation of the company鈥檚 business practices.

Amazon Prime Day is off to a good start: Average order size so far is up over 7.7% compared with 2022; we expect total sales to top $8 billion.

TikTok is intent on growing livestream sales: The platform plans to open live studios and is testing ways to make all content shoppable, even as retailers shift focus to shoppable TV.

As brands seek to diversify the number of places they sell their goods, retailers should consider building out a marketplace model that can help brands reach more customers while also cutting down on retailer costs and creating new revenue streams. You don鈥檛 need to be Amazon to launch a third-party marketplace鈥擬acy鈥檚, Michaels, and H&M have all gotten marketplaces off the ground in the last year or so.

Amazon bets that Prime members will pay extra for free grocery delivery: The retailer is testing a grocery subscription add-on for $9.99 per month in its latest attempt to boost the appeal of its grocery business.

Free returns are becoming more elusive: Retailers are turning to final sales more often to get rid of unwanted inventory and eliminate the possibility of returns.

Why it matters: Smaller retailers have grown reliant on online marketplaces operated by large retailers like Walmart and Amazon as programs such as Walmart+ and Amazon Prime make it enticing for shoppers to concentrate their shopping on a few websites where they can receive free shipping.

Mobile is driving ecommerce sales growth, with 43.2% of the $1.137 trillion in US ecommerce sales we project for this year. As mcommerce sales rise, retailers are innovating to get a piece of the $491.14 billion pie. Mobile commerce will be especially vital this holiday season. Some 79% of US online shoppers shopped via mobile during the Cyber Five last year, according to Bizrate Insights data cited in a Forrester report.

Though growth is slowing, digital grocery will continue to fuel overall ecommerce growth in the US. 鈥淕rowth is no longer driven by new adopters, but heavy digital grocery users,鈥� our analyst Blake Droesch said on a recent 鈥淩eimagining Retail鈥� podcast episode. Here鈥檚 how retailers like Instacart, Amazon, and Walmart can capitalize on frequent buyers.

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.

The news: Walmart鈥檚 courtship of high-income consumers helped the retailer beat expectations for same-store sales, revenues, and profits in Q1. US comparable sales excluding fuel grew 3.8% year over year (YoY)鈥攚hich Walmart attributed mainly to an increase in transactions. Revenues rose 6% YoY to $161.51 billion, beating FactSet鈥檚 consensus estimate of $159.57 billion.

The cost of advertising on Amazon spiked in 2023: Our industry KPIs show that while CPCs are rising, healthy consumer demand is stabilizing return on ad spend.

It already generates a larger share of its revenues from advertising than retail media leader Amazon and the ad business is dependent on the success of its delivery business. If the delivery business continues to slow, advertisers will begin shifting their dollars elsewhere.

贰迟蝉测鈥檚 sales have remained 鈥渆ssentially flat鈥� for two years: The niche online marketplace鈥檚 inability to broaden its reach led it to lay off about 225 employees.

It鈥檚 easier than ever to find fashion resale online: The latest example of that is Rent the Runway鈥檚 new storefront on Amazon Fashion.

TikTok is taking the lead on social commerce: But Meta, Pinterest, and Snap are trying to take back the spotlight by partnering with Amazon and focusing on shoppable ads.