Online retail is booming globally. And the fight for the market cap between Amazon (U.S) and Alibaba (China) is growing day by day. Both Amazon and Alibaba are the kings of e-commerce in their home countries. But how soon until they set their sights on each other’s home territories? Let’s take a look at Amazon vs Alibaba.
Simple Beginnings: Amazon vs Alibaba
Launched as an online bookstore in the year 1995 by Jeff Bezos, Amazon went on to become the world’s biggest online retailer, offering a comprehensive umbrella of services including business-to-consumer direct sales (B2C), media content streaming, distribution and logic support, electronic products and merchandise, and cloud computing via Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Alibaba on the other hand, founded in China by Jack Ma in 1999 focuses on providing consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales.
While Amazon is focusing on expanding its e-commerce business in new markets, Alibaba is investing in companies around the world. Alibaba’s investments range beyond e-commerce and also include virtual reality and social media.
Home Turf Advantages & Global Expansion Strategies
Both of these e-commerce giants have established a firm market position in their home turfs. And both companies are looking for new markets to expand in. Amazon operations are spread all across the USA, Asia, and Europe and it provides international shipping to over 100 countries.
In the year 2016, Amazon accounted for 3% of the total retail in the US. Whereas Alibaba accounted for 11.18% of total retail in China. Interestingly, Amazon’s growth in online sales volume was 10 times higher than the next eight large retailers (in the US) combined.
Alibaba enjoys the monopoly in the Chinese market and Amazon is the undisputed U.S. leader. Both of these companies have a strong understanding of their marketplace and business models. With this in mind, it would be extremely difficult for one to knock the other from their perch.
However, Alibaba’s Jack Ma has already disclosed their plans to invest seriously in the US. And Amazon won’t turn away from a fight, even if it proves to be costly for them. It’ll be interesting to watch how Amazon will address Alibaba’s rise, and what their next move will be.
Amazon vs Alibaba: Who Is Winning The The E-Commerce War?
This infographic compiled by Ecommerce Platforms shows the growth track of Amazon and Alibaba e-commerce giants with some very interesting statistics on their growth, expansion, and operations.
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