As one of the largest public companies globally, Amazon‘s reach spans far beyond online retail. Let‘s explore the critical stats across Amazon‘s ecommerce, subscriptions, cloud computing, brick-and-mortar and entertainment divisions.
5 Top-Line Amazon Statistics
To start, here are 5 headline stats on the Amazon empire:
- Over $514 billion in 2022 net sales – Amazon‘s revenues grew 9% year-over-year according to their latest financials. [1]
- ~38% of U.S. ecommerce market share – Nearly 4 in 10 American online retail dollars flows through Amazon. [2]
- AWS cloud hits $80 billion run rate – Amazon Web Services continues major growth trajectory. [1]
- 200+ million Prime loyalty members – Subscribers get fast shipping and streaming media perks. [3]
- 2.5 billion site visits per month – The main Amazon.com property draws unmatched traffic. [4]
Now let‘s explore the key metrics across Amazon‘s entire business landscape.
Overall Ecommerce Statistics
Amazon‘s core online and physical retail operations make up the bulk of their business…
Amazon‘s net sales increased 9% to over half a trillion dollars
For full-year 2022, Amazon posted net sales of $514 billion globally. [1] This represents solid 9% year-over-year growth.
Net sales rose 8% in North America to reach $315 billion. International segment sales jumped 13% to $149 billion.
Amazon‘s steady top line momentum continues thanks to their unmatched scale and aggressive investments in fulfillment infrastructure.
To put their revenue figures in perspective, Walmart posted $611 billion in revenue during the same period. [5] So Amazon is fast closing the gap with the world‘s largest retailer.
And Alibaba, the closest ecommerce peer, trails at around $130 billion in annual online retail gross merchandise volume. [6]
Nearly 40% share of all online retail spending
Amazon now accounts for 37.8% of ecommerce sales in the United States per Digital Commerce 360 analysis. [2]
This means almost 4 out of every 10 dollars Americans spend shopping online flows through Amazon. Their market sharelead expanded by 2.3 percentage points year-over-year.
No other retailer comes close in share of digital spending. #2 Walmart captured 7.9% of ecommerce sales, while eBay took 4.3% for third place.
Internationally, Amazon also leads many markets. But faces tough competition in Asia from Alibaba and fast-rising Shein among others.
Amazon Prime membership exceeds 200 million globally
In their 2021 annual report, Amazon disclosed they now enjoy over 200 million paid Prime loyalty members worldwide. [3]
This subscriber base underpins strong recurring revenues via annual and monthly membership fees. Not to mention increased cross-selling opportunities across Amazon‘s family of products.
In the U.S. specifically, over 76 million households now subscribe to Amazon Prime per Statista‘s Digital Market Outlook data. [7]
Most Prime members spend $100-$200 per month at Amazon
As perhaps the best indicator of Prime‘s power to boost spending, U.S. survey data reveals: [8]
- 26% spend <$50 each month
- 31% spend $51-$100
- 23% spend $101-$200
- 7% spend $201-$500
So over half of Prime members spend upwards of $100 per month – no doubt aided by fast free shipping and media perks.
We‘ll analyze more Prime-centric metrics later on. But this core base of over 200 million loyal, high-spending members continues expanding at a healthy clip.
Amazon‘s ad business grows over 20%
While retail makes up the bulk of sales still, Amazon‘s advertising divisionExpanded even faster in 2022:
- Net ad sales hit $35.5 billion – up 23% year-over-year [1]
- On pace to soon become the #3 player behind Google and Facebook
The combination of premium first-party data and enormous reach to high-intent shoppers makes Amazon a rising star in digital advertising.
Brands pay handsomely to promote products in search results and display banners. 2023 should drive similar 20%+ ad revenue growth for Amazon.
Amazon counterfeit removal efforts erase over 10 million listings
Like all open digital marketplaces, Amazon battles constant problems around fraudulent sellers and counterfeit product listings.
But they invest heavily in detection technology and teams to stamp out fake merchandise. In 2022 alone Amazon:
- Removed over 10 million suspected counterfeit listings – up 60% as detection improves [9]
- Blocked over 2 million attempts to create seller accounts by bad actors [9]
Customer trust depends heavily on providing authentic goods. So Amazon will surely keep escalating efforts to purge fakes – great news for buyers.
Amazon Prime Member Statistics
Now let‘s analyze some key stats specifically around Amazon Prime memberships.
On average, each Prime member spends over $1,900 per year at Amazon
Based on total net sales and Prime subscriber figures, each paying member now spends approximately $1,950 annually at Amazon. That‘s up nearly 7% over 2021.
Of course, a small set of power users spend far more. But on aggregate, individuals and households tend to get their money‘s worth from the $139 annual fee via frequent orders and streaming media usage.
Strong engagement levels across Prime benefits
Survey data reveals how US-based members take advantage of Amazon‘s suite of Prime offerings: [10]
- 95% use free 2-day shipping
- 80% stream Prime Video content
- 63% use Prime coupons and deals
So while fast, free delivery clearly drives initial sign-ups, a strong majority also leverage other Prime perks from movies to music over time. Sticky engagement across these areas helps cement loyalty.
Global Amazon Prime Day sales exploded 40% higher in 2022
Amazon‘s annual Prime Day mega sale keeps smashing records:
- $12 billion in total global sales during the 2-day event in 2022 [11]
- Up a remarkable 40% over 2021
- Small & medium sellers on Amazon Marketplace generated $3 billion in sales [11]
Held each July exclusively for Prime subscribers, Prime Day features deep discounts across over 2 million products. For Amazon, it serves both as a key sales growth driver and Prime member acquisition vehicle.
The lure of major deals compels many consumers to start free Prime trials. A subset go on to convert to paid members after the 30 days expire – priming future spending.
So Prime Day helps entrench Amazon‘s immense buyer base while promoting loyalty. Expect continued extravagant growth in 2024.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Statistics
Now let‘s analyze key metrics around Amazon Web Services – the clear market leader in public cloud infrastructure.
AWS sales soared 29% to $80 billion in 2022
Amazon‘s cloud business continues its torrid expansion pace…
For full-year 2022:
- AWS net sales = $80 billion – up a stunning 29% over 2021 [1]
- Over 15% share of Amazon‘s total net sales – but contributes over half of operating income
AWS powers top global enterprises like Netflix, McDonald‘s, Exxon and more. Its portfolio now spans 200+ cloud software services for computing, storage, databases, analytics, machine learning and more.
Healthy double-digit sales growth should continue thanks to expansion across startups and incumbents. AWS is key to funding Amazon‘s retail ambitions.
Over 84 availability zones globally
The AWS global cloud infrastructure underpinning everything keeps expanding at a brisk clip:
- 84 availability zones within 26 geographic regions operational as of February 2023 [12]
- At least 24 more zones and 8 more regions slated to launch soon [12]
From North America to the Middle East to Australia, AWS presence continues ballooning. This helps serve data residency requirements, low latency demands and overall soaring cloud appetite globally.
Still, #2 Microsoft Azure also operates in 54 regions with plans to expand to over 100 total. So competition remains fierce. [13]
AWS dwarfs other cloud providers in market share
By Gartner‘s latest analysis, AWS leads the pack by a longshot in market share by cloud infrastructure services: [14]
| Provider | Market Share |
|---|---|
| AWS | 41.4% |
| #2 Microsoft Azure | 22.1% |
| #3 Google Cloud | 9.2% |
So AWS maintains a dominant, near 20 percentage point market share lead. Its years-long head start and aggressive top-notch engineering translate immense enterprise confidence.
Yet Microsoft and Google Cloud keep slowly chipping away with growth rates that sometimes surpass AWS‘s trajectory. Still much work left to threaten the top dog.
Amazon Physical Store Statistics
In addition to industry-leading ecommerce operations, Amazon continues making big bets on physical retail stores…
Cashierless Amazon Go trials now exceed 30 locations
Amazon Go provides grab-and-go shopping without registers or lines by detecting what shoppers pick up.
- Now over 30 Amazon Go locations across Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle
- Just Walk Out technology uses computer vision, sensors and machine learning
- Shoppers insert credit card on entry, with items automatically charged on exit
Early data suggests pilot stores already generate over $1 million in annual sales on average with trimmed overhead costs. [15]
If scalability challenges get solved, cashierless Amazon Go tech could significantly eat into convenience store spending. But many practical hurdles around fresh foods, alcohol and more still remain.
Amazon acquires Whole Foods grocery chain with 500+ locations
Amazon‘s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017 marked their biggest foray into brick-and-mortar retail. [16]
The organic supermarket chain retains its brand name under the Amazon umbrella. But Prime members gain discounts while Amazon integrates related tech.
- Over 500 Whole Foods stores concentrated across North America and UK
- Various fulfillment experiments underway around online order delivery/pickup
Though Whole Foods faces its share of struggles still, the merger provides Amazon with hundreds of established locations plus grocery supply chain infrastructure.
Expect the retail giant to keep tinkering here with tech integrations to bridge more online and offline grocery commerce.
The Big Picture on Amazon Business Stats
Zooming out from the numbers, 3 major takeaways stand out:
-
Retail dominance solidifies – With over 37% share of ecommerce and 200+ million Prime subscribers, Amazon‘s lead in digital (and increasingly physical) retail looks virtually insurmountable. Competitors can nibble only at the edges.
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Powerful loyalty engine via Prime – Perks like free shipping and streaming keep over 76 million U.S. households paying $139 per year while spending $100+ monthly. Locked-in behavior.
-
Cloud casualty risk? – AWS print money with 29% growth and leading $80 billion business. Its profits heavily subsidize retail expansion experiments. An existential threat here would shock Amazon.
While no business gains infinite escape velocity forever, Amazon‘s aggressively efficient DNA based on customer obsession continues propelling them into new orbits.
What other Amazon stats or analysis would you be interested to see in future coverage? Let me know on social media!
Sources
- Amazon 2022 Annual Report
- Digital Commerce 360
- Amazon 2021 Shareholder Letter
- SimilarWeb
- Walmart 2022 Annual Report
- Alibaba 2022 Annual Report
- Statista Digital Market Outlook
- Statista – Survey of Amazon Prime members
- Amazon 2023 Press Release
- Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP)
- Statista – Amazon Prime Day
- AWS Global Infrastructure
- Microsoft Azure Region Availability
- Gartner Market Share Analysis: IaaS and IUS, 2021
- RBC Capital Markets Estimates
- Amazon 2017 Whole Foods Acquisition
