Shopping App Rankings Rock Retail As Battles Brew Between Titans

As battles royale go, the retail wrestling match between Amazon and Walmart is getting brutal.

We track it attentively in our Whole Paycheck series, a recent edition of which reported on the memo leaked from Walmart reading thusly: “Grocery, the growth engine of the business, is losing share rapidly. More than ever, Walmart shopper[s] are choosing the competition.”

Taken along with recent PYMNTS research finding that Amazon sales are poised to pass Walmart by a 3:1 ratio within five years, it’s no wonder that PYMNTS Provider Ranking of Shopping Apps remains contentious. We offer in evidence the fact that Target Stores is absent from this month’s Top 10. That could change by next month, thanks to Target’s new store-within-a-store concept powered by an Apple partnership bringing connected commerce.

For now, however, the race at the top of the shopping app charts tells a nuanced story.

Enough context. We know what you’re here for. Let’s get to the rankings.

The Top 5

We can talk about Amazon, Target and Walmart all you like, but those multinational conglomerates have been unable to dislodge the SHEIN fast-fashion app from the No. 1 spot. There it sits yet again, proving that one needn’t be the biggest to score big, and consistently.

Here’s Amazon now, rising two spots from last month to snag the No. 2 chart position. Between new Alexa updates and Palm Payments, they’ve been busy sans Bezos.

Hot on Amazon’s heels at No. 3 is the Walmart app, down a spot, but undeterred in its bid for primacy with innovations like new virtual fitting rooms, courtesy of Zeekit technology.

At No. 4 we have a tie between two China-based ecommerce giants. The Alibaba app drops a spot to land at No. 4, while the AliExpress app climbs up one position to join it there. Alibaba is expanding into new markets this year, while AliExpress just added Klarna BNPL to its platform.

U.S.-based eCommerce app Wish is up one chart position to No. 5, closing out this Top 5.

The Top 10

Moving right along, we’ve got the Nike app at No. 6 — up a spot from last month — with its new focus on “sustainable materials, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.”

There’s another tie at No. 7 as eBay impressively ascends three chart positions in a single bound, moving into everything from blockchain NFTs to financial services in 2021.

Sharing No. 7 with eBay this month is Poshmark, returning to the Provider Ranking of Shopping Apps after an absence. The apparel resale app has reported strong demand this year.

In another upset the OfferUp app also reappears, claiming No. 8 for itself. The popular recommerce brand has integrated with the letgo app, creating a large deal-centric marketplace.

Falling one spot to No. 9 is the Fetch Rewards app. But you can’t keep down a company whose CEO recently said loyalty “should be a brand proving that they’re loyal to the consumer.”

Leaving off with something totally unexpected, the Joom app comes out of the blue to enter the Top 10 at No. 10.

We don’t normally do this, but since we mentioned Target, their shopping app is currently ranked at No. 12. With new store concepts and private-label products in the offing, we’ll keep an eye on the retail innovator as it maneuvers to rise in PYMNTS Provider Rankings.