​Amazon is the elephant in the room. According to the Internet Retailers Conference and Exhibition that took place earlier this month in Chicago, $4 out of every $10 spent online in the U.S. is with Amazon (43%). Currently, there are approximately 80 million Amazon Prime members – that’s 64% of households in the U.S.

​In a recent announcement, Amazon revealed they would be offering free shipping (without a Prime membership) on orders of only $25 or more.  This is in response to Walmart, which in January of this year, started offering free shipping on purchases over $35 – no membership fee necessary.  In response, Amazon started to offer free shipping (without a Prime membership) on orders of $35 or more but are now lowering it by an additional $10. 

​There is no doubt that Amazon is dominating the retail world and competitors are not happy.  According to MKM Partners analyst, Rob Sanderson, Amazon is “eating the retail world”.  The chart below shows Amazon, in the categories that the company serves, growing its market share, as brick-and-mortar retail sales are on the decline. 

​The gap has continued to widen over the past couple of years.  Amazon is growing while competitors like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Costco and Target continue to lose market share as their “margins shrink and the dollars shift back to Amazon”,  added Sanderson.