The global e-retail is in constant growth since 2014. In 2017, e-retail commerce sales worldwide amounted to $2.3 trillion and e-retail revenues are projected to grow to $4.88 trillion in 2021 (Statista). In 2018 e-commerce grew by 18% globally--consumers spent $2.86 trillion in online sales. The top 10 online retailers accounted for 15.1% of all global e-commerce (2019 Top Performers in Global Ecommerce). The top 10 global e-commerce retailers are Amazon.com, JD.com, Suning Commerce Group, Apple, Walmart, Dell Technologies, Vipshop Holdings, Otto Group, Gome Electrical Appliances and Macy's. Half of the top 10 are from the US, four are based in China and one in Germany.

The top 5 online stores' global net sales amounted to more than $200 billion in 2018. Out of the top five world e-retailers ranked by online sales in 2018, three are from the US and two are from China. The biggest growth in 2018 is made by China’s Suning and Jd (EcommerceDB). Apple also noted a high growth of 22% in 2018 comparing to 2017. The Chinese e-retailers show significantly higher growth rates in 2018 compared to the US ones. China is poised to become the world’s top retail market in 2019, surpassing the US by more than $100 billion, according to eMarketer’s latest worldwide retail and e-commerce forecast.

• Amazon.com in the US and JD in China are on the top of the list generating the highest global net sale. Amazon is the largest e-commerce retailer by online revenue in the world. It offers a very wide product selection but is mainly focused on consumer electronics and books and media. Amazon runs multiple other online stores like amazon.co.uk, amazon.de and amazon.fr all over the world and exported its business model successfully abroad. The revenue is adjusted for income from subscription services and provisions for third-party sales. The global net sale of Amazon was $77 bn in 2018.
• Jd.com, operated by Beijing Jingdong 360 Du E-Commerce, Ltd., is an online store with nationally-focused sales. Its e-commerce net sales are generated almost entirely in Greater China. With regards to the product range, Jd is an all-around online store, with products that cover different categories, such as “Electronics & Media”, “Furniture & Appliances” as well as “Food & Personal Care”. The online store was launched in 2004. The global net sales amounted $61 bn.

• Apple.com, though internationally-focused, generates its e-commerce net sales primarily in the United States as well as in Greater China and Japan. With regards to the product range, Apple also specializes in the “Electronics & Media” category, particularly in the area of “Consumer Electronics”. Its global net sales amounted $26 bn in 2018.

• Suning.com, operated by Nanjing Suning E-Commerce Co., Ltd., is an online store with nationally-focused sales. Its e-commerce net sales are generated almost entirely in Greater China. With regards to the product range, Suning is an all-around online store, offering products in different categories, such as “Electronics & Media”, “Furniture & Appliances” as well as “Food & Personal Care”. The online store was launched in 2010. The global net sales amounted $20 bn in 2018.

• Walmart.com with an online revenue of $14 bn is the second largest e-commerce retailer in the United States. The online share of Walmart is relatively small with about 2.8%. This is largely due to the gigantic retail footprint the company has in the US. Even though Walmart, is the biggest company in the world by revenue and employees they struggle with converting their success in the online retail field. Its global net sales were $16bn in 2018.

Most of the global e-commerce net sales are generated by the "electronics and media" category. "Electronics and media" is the main and best-seller category of all five top-ranked e-retailers globally. The chart below presents the ranking of the most popular online stores worldwide in the electronics and media segment in 2018, sorted by annual net e-commerce sale.

In 2018, the market leader Amazon generated $42 billion via the sale of physical goods in the category electronics and media worldwide. Apple, on the other hand, was ranked second with a revenue of $26.6 billion.