Amazon Unseats Walmart as Top US Retailer

Amazon became the largest retailer in the United States in terms of gross merchandise value sometime in 2025, overtaking Walmart, Seeking Alpha reported Thursday (June 25), citing a report by J.P. Morgan.

J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth and his team attributed Amazon’s gains to its selection, pricing and fast delivery, according to the report.

They added that the growth of Amazon’s retail business outpaced that of the broader eCommerce market in the first quarter and that the company is now estimated to hold 47% of the U.S. eCommerce market, per the report.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Basket Breakaway: How Amazon Is Turning Walmart’s Store Traffic Into a Retail Weakness” found that while Walmart draws tens of millions of people into its store every week for groceries, Amazon has pulled ahead in the sale of other retail items and is widening its lead.

PYMNTS Intelligence found that Amazon surpassed Walmart in terms of share of consumer retail spending in the first quarter of 2024.

As of the first quarter of 2026, Amazon holds a 9.3% share of consumer retail spending, up from 8.6% a year earlier, while Walmart holds 7.8% share, equal to the share it held in the first quarter of 2025.

Amazon holds a significant lead in four of seven retail categories, including sporting and hobby goods, musicand books; electronics and appliances; furniture and home furnishing; and clothing and apparel, according to the report.

“These are precisely the goods that travel well in a box, delivered the same day or the next in most cases,” the report said. “Amazon wins them all without owning a single aisle of shelf space.”

Amazon also holds a 0.1 percentage point lead in a fifth category, health and personal care, while Walmart has a greater share of the food and beverages category and the auto parts category, per the report.

Both Amazon and Walmart are currently holding sales events, with Amazon’s Prime Day running June 23-26 and Walmart Deals running June 22-28. An Amazon executive said groceries and household essentials will be a “real focus” of Prime Day, while Walmart is offering deals both online and in stores.