What are the most important and famous e-commerce platforms in the world?

Global e-commerce is no longer a luxury but a necessary strategy for many people who have moved away from traditional store destinations with the rapid growth of online purchasing platforms, but with so many good options on the market choosing the right system for your needs can be a challenge.

 What are the most important and famous e-commerce platforms in the world

By the end of 2023, e-commerce will account for about 22% of all retail sales worldwide with sales of more than $6.5 trillion. Selling on one of the best e-commerce sites in the world would be a great option if you want to save costs and improve sales. Sellers may reach out. With more customers in both domestic and international markets, there are between 12 million to 24 million e-commerce sites worldwide.

What is an e-commerce platform?

An e-commerce platform is a software solution that helps businesses to set up and run their online stores, the store can do everything from hosting to payment processing to website design and beyond, in other words, everything you need to run your store is in one place, the most popular examples include E-commerce platforms Amazon and eBay.

The best ecommerce platforms offer a wide variety of features and integrations to choose from, making it easy to create the exact store you need. They will also be easy to use so that you can get your store up and running quickly and without any hassle. Below we'll outline some of the best ecommerce platforms out there:

1. Amazon

Amazon is one of the largest American companies, as it was founded in 1994. The company’s activity began as an online book market, however, Amazon has grown to become the largest retail chain in the world, according to Statista. Amazon received up to 2.4 billion visits in May 2022, which is to the extent By far the most visited e-commerce website in the United States.

Apart from the US, Amazon also operates in 19 other countries which are Australia, Austria, China, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, UAE, UK and Singapore.

Amazon is the world's largest internet company as well as the world's largest retailer, with interests in cloud computing, digital entertainment, and Twitch live broadcasting.

Positives

• As one of the most visited e-commerce sites in the world, Amazon has a large customer base which is great for sellers. With Amazon, you can reach customers who are ready to buy.
• When you sell on the platform, you can benefit from Amazon brand recognition.
• Amazon is very easy to use.
• Marketing is cheap, since you don't have to spend on content marketing when selling with Amazon. The platform can be compared to a search engine in the sense that it indexes different sellers to help buyers get what they're looking for.

Negatives

• It does not allow you to build a brand, as prices, product categories, and average customer ratings are used to index pages, with Google Shopping the seller’s page is indexed, while on Amazon the products page is indexed.
• But you should know that the competition is fierce on the Amazon market, with more than 2.4 million sellers. If you want to achieve sales on Amazon, you need to create distinct marketing methods to attract and good features for your products to attract customers.
• Selling is expensive with subscription-based selling fees plus referral fees on every item sold, so Amazon isn't cheap to sell.

2. eBay

is an American e-commerce company founded in 1995, a leading global consumer-to-consumer marketplace as well as one of the world's leading B2C retailers.

eBay delivers to about 190 countries and regions around the world, they also have about 138 million buyers around the world, buyers do not need to pay any transaction fees on eBay, however, it is quite different for sellers as they have to pay for items to be listed on E-commerce platform.

Positives

• eBay sellers have access to a wide audience, with more than 138 million buyers worldwide.
• eBay is widely trusted and popular among buyers, so selling on eBay allows you to enter into eBay popularity.
• The site is very inexpensive to use, you can list up to 250 products for free each month, and you are only charged final value fees when you sell your products.

Negatives

• It is also like Amazon that needs you to study the market well in order to be able to attract customers and achieve sales
• Sellers have to pay for various ancillary services such as broad menu, larger gallery, two-category menu, and scheduled menu.

3. AliExpress platform

It is an e-commerce platform owned by the Alibaba Group, founded in 2010 in China, which is a B2C market, most of the sellers are from China, and the target market is international buyers.

AliExpress does not sell to customers in mainland China, and the site has translations into 18 languages, including English, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

Positives

• Cheaper than most other e-commerce sites, the overhead cost is low.

Negatives

• It has a problem with shipping times, ideally shipping takes between 15 days and 2 months, however, some customers have complained about the delay in the delivery of their goods.
• Refunds and returns Processing returns on AliExpress can sometimes take months, and some customers have complained that they don't get a refund.

4. Walmart platform

It is an American multinational department store chain launched in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962, and currently operates approximately 10,500 stores and clubs in approximately 24 countries, as well as a number of e-commerce sites.

Walmart operates in 50 states of the United States and Puerto Rico under various banners such as Supercenter, Discount Stores, and Neighborhood Market.

Wal-Mart is also establishing itself as an e-commerce giant. Their website, walmart.com, receives nearly 100 million visitors. They also acquired two e-commerce sites, jet.com and hayneedle.com.

Due to the combination of its offline and online operations, Wal-Mart is the second largest retail chain in the world after Amazon.

Positives

• Any product can be sold at Walmart as long as it is not on Walmart's Prohibited Products List.
• Unlike Amazon, Walmart only charges seller fees when you buy your products, and fees vary based on the product category.
• It allows its sellers to create their own return policy, and this helps them create favorable conditions for their business.
• It is a one-stop-shop for buyers where products of every kind are available in the store.

Negatives

• It has a price parity rule which means that sellers cannot offer the same product at lower prices on other e-commerce platforms.
• Because there are fewer sellers, there are fewer shoppers at Walmart.

5. Alibaba.com website

Alibaba.com was launched in 1999 and has grown into one of the world's leading B2B marketplaces. Buyers are located in more than 190 countries and regions and sellers are located in more than 200 countries. Alibaba offers millions of products from more than 40 product categories.

Positives

• You can reach thousands of sellers from more than 200 countries.
• Since there are a large number of sellers, buyers companies can get more flexible terms like minimum order minimum.

Negatives

• Shipping via Alibaba takes longer than it does on other e-commerce sites, from 15 days to months.
• As a buyer making a bulk purchase from an outside company, Alibaba does not provide a method to conduct an on-site visit prior to making the visit.
• Sellers need a subscription plan before they can sell on the site. The basic plan costs $2,399 per year, while the premium plan costs $4,199 per year.