Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

Top 25 E-tailers Report: Best Buy Surges Past Apple As Amazon Sails On

E-tailers hit hard in 2019, even with 3.6% overall growth

Whenever I watch Olympic swimmers compete, my attention is more often drawn to the athletes behind the leader. Sometimes that’s where the real action is, and 2019 was no exception. While Amazon remains our number one E-tailer on the TWICE 2020 Top 25 Consumer Electronics E-tailer report, the real race was between Best Buy (#2) and Apple Stores (#3).

Last year, TWICE reported on the amazing leap Apple Stores took to claim the #2 spot from Best Buy, but from Best Buy’s incredible 14.1 percent year-over-year gain in 2019, it’s clear they wanted their spot back – and they certainly earned it. Is it wrong for me to be excited to see what 2021’s listings will bring?

Amazon continued to sail on in 2019, bringing in nearly 32 billion in online sales – over 25 billion more than Best Buy and Apple Stores, the nearest competitors. But not every online E-tailer saw growth in 2019, with nearly half of our Top 25 list reporting negative growth.

Hardest hit were Bluestem Brands (#24, down 16%), Office Depot (#25, down 15.9%), Microsoft (#17, down 14%), Staples (#22, down 13.7%) and Sam’s Club (#21, down 11.1%), each posting double digit losses.

Surprisingly, the Army-Air Force Exchange posted the greatest year-over-year growth in 2019 with a 24.9 percent gain. Micro Center followed with an amazing 21.7 percent reported gain.

A trend seen from our rankings that warrants concern is the apparent decline of year-over-year growth for major computer companies, particularly Dell (#6, down 4%), Hewlett Packard (#9, down 7%), Lenovo (#16, down 6%) and Microsoft (#17, down 14%). Whether this trend downward will continue in 2020 or not may depend on the Coronavirus. Could consumers purchasing new products to handle their enforced work from home edicts bring the growth they need? My two cents? Yes it will.

The Coronavirus has turned the world upside down, especially with brick-and-mortar retailers struggling to stay afloat. Fortunately for E-tailers, this has the potential to bring a surge, or resurgence, in business as consumers practice social distancing and need new tech and products to support their work from home lifestyle. I feel like a sports announcer, but I can’t help it. 2020 E-tailers! The race is on! On your marks, get set, Go!

You can purchase the entire TWICE 2020 Top 25 E-tailers report here.

See also: Where Do We Go From Here?

Featured

Close