Amazon continues to exert dominance over the ecommerce space as new research shows that the retail giant now equates for over a third of online consumer spend.

Global ecommerce consultancy Salmon has found that 37% of all money spent online by consumers goes to Amazon.

What’s more, this looks likely to increase in the future. In a survey of over 600 consumers, 73% said that they will increase their use of digital shopping channels in the future.

Amazon’s dominance stems largely from the fact that it now sets the expectations consumers have for all online retailers. 53% of respondents said they are more likely to buy from Amazon Prime than another online retailer, highlighting an increased preference in retail subscription services.

60% thought that same day delivery should be offered by ALL online retailers. While the logistics and practicality of this for smaller ecommerce brands is obviously difficult, the figure does show that Amazon is setting the pace.

“While many retailers are still struggling with establishing omni-channel strategies, Amazon is taking omni-channel innovations to the next level through its partnerships, delivery options and multiple interfaces, which is what retailers must do if they’re to survive,” Hugh Fletcher, global head of Consultancy and Innovation at Salmon, said.

Moving the goalposts

Consumers consistently rank Amazon above its competitors. In the US, 72% of respondents claimed that Amazon is ‘leading the way in digital retail’. 57% of European consumers rank the company as the leading ecommerce brand.

This is market leadership is personified by Amazon Prime Day, a ‘black Friday’ style day event that is dedicated solely to the online retailer. Salmon call this self-creation of sales increases as ‘proactive peak formation’.

Product and service innovation is also a key part of Amazon’s appeal. 42% of respondents said they would love to use an Amazon Echo to do their shopping. 60% said that the more digitally innovative a brand appears, the more likely they would be to spend more with them.  

“These findings unveil the harsh reality for retailers that need to wise up to the threat of Amazon and create strong digital services both quickly and to a high standard,” Fletcher adds.

“Amazon is seemingly always ten steps ahead of other retailers, and its continued expansion into other markets demonstrates its intent to sew up every industry in sight. Retailers must ask themselves, are they happy to give up their interface, their data, their customer, and their future, and become just another brand consigned to history?”