Amazon Beats Walmart in Quarterly Sales for the First Time
Walmart remains ahead of Amazon in annual sales, but the e-commerce giant is expected to close the gap soon.
Amazon has dethroned Walmart in quarterly sales for the first time ever, ending the retail giant’s decade-long reign. Earlier this month, Amazon reported remarkable quarterly revenue of $187.8 billion, surpassing Walmart in sales. Walmart, which had long dominated the retail landscape, announced its earnings on Thursday afternoon, posting $180.5 billion in revenue for the quarter.
This shift underscores Amazon’s growing dominance, fuelled by the rapid expansion of its AWS cloud computing division and an increasingly fast and efficient supply chain. Its extensive network of fulfilment centres and last-mile delivery operations has given it a competitive edge. Logistics remains a key driver of Amazon’s success, with third-party seller services—including fulfilment, shipping fees, and advertising—playing a crucial role.
Walmart vs. Amazon: The Battle for Retail and E-Commerce Dominance
Walmart continues to strengthen its omnichannel strategy, seamlessly integrating its vast brick-and-mortar presence with a rapidly growing e-commerce ecosystem. By leveraging its nationwide network of physical stores as fulfilment hubs, Walmart enhances same-day pickup and fast delivery services, improving customer convenience and maintaining its competitive edge. The retail giant also dominates the U.S. grocery market, commanding approximately 30% of grocery sales, while Amazon holds just under 3%.
However, Amazon is aggressively expanding into food retail, launching a new grocery subscription model, and making strategic leadership changes at Whole Foods. Meanwhile, Walmart continues to invest in digital transformation, automation, and supply chain innovations to compete with Amazon’s retail and logistics supremacy.
The intensifying rivalry between Walmart and Amazon ultimately benefits consumers by driving improvements in pricing, service quality, and convenience. While Walmart remains a retail powerhouse, its e-commerce presence in Africa still lags behind Amazon, which has established a stronger digital footprint across the continent.
