If you’re looking for a bustling ecommerce market, then you need look no further than North America. This region boasts excellent spending power, thriving online shopping habits, and a well-developed ecommerce ecosystem - ready to help you reach every possible corner.
Ecommerce keeps growing across North America: in 2023, it generated revenue of over US$1 trillion and this is projected to keep growing at a steady 14% CAGR between 2022 and 2026.
North American marketplaces: It's not only the USA!
Of course, many people naturally think of the USA as the prime market in North America (and it is), but it’s important to recognize the potential across the whole region.
The North American market consists of 23 independent states, ranging from Caribbean islands like Sint Maarten and Bermuda to larger countries like Canada and Mexico. Many of these can offer a far greater possibility for organic sales growth.
North American consumers love to shop online, and selling on marketplaces is the best way to connect with them. However, when prioritizing which countries to target, it makes sense to go for the biggest fish in the pond: the largest markets, and the biggest marketplaces in those countries.
The biggest marketplaces in North America
The largest ecommerce markets in North America are the USA, Canada, and Mexico. As all three of these are members of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), trade between these countries is very easy.
It’ll come as no big surprise that Amazon has the greatest market presence in all three major markets, but there are many more channels to consider if you want to reach every possible customer.
To capture the best market share, a multichannel approach is called for. Each country has distinct preferences for different marketplaces, and many of the smaller North American countries tend to follow the trends of their larger neighbors, depending on factors like language, accessibility, payment, and shipping options.
To give a clear picture of your market potential in North America, it makes sense to break it down further, and then look at the biggest marketplaces in each major market in the North American region. This will help you prioritize and achieve the best success in each market.
The biggest ecommerce market in North America: the USA
The USA is by far the largest ecommerce market in North America, with a population of, and a high internet penetration rate of 80%.
It’s a mature market, so ecommerce growth in the USA is a little lower than in Canada and Mexico. However, as the 2nd largest ecommerce market in the world, it’s also not one to ignore.
Ecommerce already makes up 24% of all retail in the USA, and this will grow to about a third of all retail spending by 2027. These factors, combined with a well-established network of warehousing, logistics, and delivery solutions, make the USA a very attractive (and low threshold) destination for your products.
The top marketplaces in the USA
#1: Amazon.com
Nearly half of Amazon’s global revenue (US$692.7 billion in 2022) comes from the US market alone. In total, consumers in the USA spent over US$354 billion on Amazon.com purchases in 2022. Amazon is an attractive marketplace for sellers and consumers alike, and this contributes to a steady annual growth of 6% in Amazon’s GMV. Third-party (3P) sellers are becoming a growing part of the overall GMV, as Amazon is increasingly shifting away from the vendor model.
#2: Walmart.com
Starting as a high-volume retailer in 1962, Walmart has grown into a massive physical and online retail presence. Their online sales are now a significant part of their overall business, with the ecommerce segment growing at twice the rate of in-store sales, at 12%.
To support this trend, Walmart has embraced the platform model and become a thriving marketplace for top brands. Walmart.com’s GMV in 2022 was estimated to be in the region of US$132 billion.
Selling on Walmart can be a highly profitable endeavor for brands that don't already have a presence here. Click here to find out more. Click here to find out more.
#3: eBay.com
Ebay has gained a dominant position as the marketplace where consumers go to find everything. It has morphed from a predominantly C2C platform, into a bustling virtual mall - full of the world’s biggest brands and retailers.
The eBay marketplace offers special features for brand owners, to ensure your products are showcased in the best way for consumers.
Due to increasing competition from newcomers like Walmart.com and Target.com, eBay’s market share has slipped over the years, but the platform still generated US$72.1 billion in GMV from the USA.
To find out more about how to start selling on eBay, click here.
#4: Target.com
American shoppers know and trust the Target brand as a familiar fixture of strip malls and high streets. Target.com launched their own marketplace, Target Plus (a.k.a., Target+) at the start of 2019, so they could offer a wider range of products to their customers.
Good timing, right? As ecommerce went into high gear in 2020 and 2021, Target+ continued to gain traction among consumers who loved the expanded assortment of brands and products.
Target+ is an invitation-only marketplace, meaning brands that can start selling on Target+ have a curated selling environment that promotes quality and full-price sales.
If you want to start selling on Target Plus, then you’ll need to get invited – but you can save your place in the line now by filling in this form.
To get the best chance of being accepted as a Target+ seller, we recommend having a chat with your ChannelEngine Customer Success agent, who can advise you on the ideal course of action.
#5: Wayfair.com
Wayfair is a relative newcomer, but has become a major player in the US and beyond. Starting as a collection of niche online stores, the parent company (CSN Stores) decided to consolidate them all under the Wayfair banner in 2011.
Wayfair is now a home goods-focused marketplace that allows selected partners to sell quality home furnishings, décor, and other home goods on a dedicated platform. Selling on Wayfair.com a great way to reach a more selected audience, with a sharp focus on the home and living category.
About 86% of revenue comes from shoppers in the USA, which amounted to US$10.5 billion GMV in 2022.
To find out about how to start selling on Wayfair.com, click here.
Second biggest ecommerce market in North America: Canada
Compared to the USA, Canada is a much smaller market. However, it’s the 11th largest ecommerce market in the world, and it’s still growing.
With a population of 38.9 million people, Canada has fewer residents than the US state of California but covers a greater surface area than the entire USA. As a result, the population density is much lower (about 4 people per km2) and this means that delivery times can be longer. Provided your customers are given reasonable expectations and access to parcel tracking information, this rarely causes any problems.
It’s also worth being aware that 22.8% of Canadians speak French as their first language, and about half of these consumers speak only French. Localizing your content will be important for optimizing success in this market.
Some 75% of the Canadian population shop online, or about 27 million consumers and ecommerce is still growing at a respectable 17% CAGR 2022-2027. Mobile shopping is a growing trend and 55% of Canadians have made purchases via mobile, and ecommerce spending reached US$50.2 billion in 2023.
Similarly to the USA, some 14.4% of the retail market is made up of online sales. This share varies a lot depending on the category: 21% of electronics and 2.5% of motor parts sales are online.
Although heavily influenced by the brands and trends of their southern neighbor (the USA), Canada has a distinct culture, spending habits, and unique preferences for brands and marketplaces. Many of the top marketplaces in Canada are the same as in the USA, but with some interesting exceptions.
The top marketplaces in Canada
#1: Amazon.ca
Canadians spent some US$28.8 billion on Amazon in 2022. Both the Amazon.com and Amazon.ca websites are used by Canadians. However, as a clear demonstration of the power of localization, the Canadian site is significantly more popular, gaining 182 million visitors, versus 25.9 million Canadians visiting the Amazon.com website each month.
#2: Walmart.ca
Walmart.ca is a major player in Canada with 32.6 million monthly visitors. Canadian consumers spent US$8.9 billion on Walmart.com in 2022, and Walmart is keen to support the growth of their Canadian marketplace platform.
To assist US-based sellers, Walmart offers a Ship With Walmart (SWW) program and Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) to help make cross-border selling much easier. If you want to start selling on Walmart Canada Marketplace, then you can apply here.
However, to maximize your chances of being accepted it is recommended you discuss the requirements with your Customer Success Team representative. Walmart’s strongest competitor in the Canadian market is probably Canadian Tire, however they are yet to launch a marketplace platform. If they do, be prepared to pounce.
#3: eBay.ca
EBay is the third most popular marketplace with Canadian shoppers, who spent US$2.4 billion on eBay.ca and eBay.com in 2022. Some 26.2 million consumers visit the eBay.ca marketplace each month, attracted to the wide variety of goods across every category imaginable. Some of the most demanded categories on eBay Canada are Men’s Clothing, Fragrances, and Computers – but pretty much everything will find a buyer here. If you’re not sure about price points, you can use the eBay tool Terapeak, which gives insight into real-time price trends and other selling data.
#4: Tmall
This is where we start to see a divergence from Canada’s southern neighbor. Tmall is the world’s third most popular marketplace, with a huge following in China. Tmall was spun out of the parent business Taobao in 2008, to better serve consumers who wanted to buy directly from brands and retailers.
Tmall is the fourth most popular marketplace among Canadians, and has a dedicated portal for Canadian customers, who spent US$1.68 billion on the platform in 2022. Tmall is a major global marketplace, with annual GMV of US$616.8 billion worldwide in 2022. As Canada has a significant Chinese diaspora population (1.7 million Canadians, or 4.3% are of Chinese origin), this may account for the popularity of Tmall in Canada.
#5: AliExpress
Like Tmall, another Chinese marketplace that’s wildly popular in Canada is AliExpress. Both Tmall and AliExpress are part of the Alibaba group, and AliExpress started as a B2C spin-off from the B2B sourcing platform Alibaba.com. Some 20.1 million Canadians visit AliExpress each month, and some US$0.95 billion in GMV was generated by Canadian customers in 2022.
The third biggest ecommerce market in North America: Mexico
With a population of 128.8 million people, Mexico is a key market for any brand looking to harness organic growth. Mexico has the 16th largest ecommerce market in the world, and it’s growing at a very healthy rate of 20% CAGR 2022 to 2026.
The rise of internet penetration is a leading factor in Mexico’s ecommerce. While in 2019, just 57.9% of the population were online, this will reach 75% in 2023 and 94.3% in 2028. Given the size of the population and Mexico’s developing economy, there’s an excellent chance that it will overtake Canada as the #2 market in North America in the coming years. The growth potential here cannot be ignored, and it opens the door to other Latin American markets too.
The top marketplaces in Mexico
#1: Amazon.com.mx
Amazon is just as popular in Mexico as in the USA (and the rest of the world). Both Amazon.com and Amazon.com.mx are used by Mexican consumers, but the localized version is preferred. Amazon generated US$9.3 billion GMV in Mexico in 2022.
#2: MercadoLibre.com.mx
Mercado Libre means ‘free market’, and it’s an incredibly popular platform across Latin America. It all began in 1999 in Marcos Galperin’s garage in Buenos Aires. Seven years later, and it was the largest ecommerce platform in Latin America (until Amazon entered the market in 2012).
The MercadoLibre.com.mx website attracts about 104.5 million visitors each month, and generated GMV of US$6.3 billion in 2022.
#3: Walmart.com.mx
Walmart has a powerful presence across North America, including Mexico. Retailers will be glad to know that the Walmart marketplace is also available in Mexico. The history of Walmart in Mexico may be surprising, as it goes back further than you might think. Walmart’s Mexican branch, Wal-Mart de Mexico, S.A. de C.V, began as Cifra, a Mexican retailer which was founded in 1952. Walmart starting buying a growing stake in Cifra until 1997 when it had a controlling share and changed the name to Wal-Mart de Mexico. Mexican consumers spent US$1.47 billion with Walmart.com.mx in 2022.
#4: Coppel.com
Originally an electronics retailer Coppel is now a busy marketplace for third-party sellers, with significant reach in this growing market. An impressive 40.2 million consumers visit the Coppel marketplace every month. The total GMV Coppel generated in the Mexican market in 2022 was over US$1 billion, which is 8.1% higher than 2021.
#5: Linio.com.mx
Since 2018, Linio.com.mx has been part of the Chilean Falabella group. Linio is a strong local online marketplace in Mexico, however it’s likely that the Linio marketplace will eventually be rebranded under the Falabella name, which already has a strong following across Latin America.
Linio receives 24 million monthly visitors and offers products from more than 8000 professional sellers. Their app has been downloaded 13.9 million times, and Linio has a presence in 4 key Latin American markets.
…and many more North American marketplaces to consider!
Besides the biggest marketplaces in North America outlined above, there are many more to think about, depending on whether they fit with your business model and target customer.
Other North American marketplaces to consider
BestBuy (Canada) – This electronics retailer now operates a marketplace in Canada (but not the USA). Learn more.
Macy’s – A popular US department store that has harnessed their market presence with an extensive omnichannel offering, including a curated marketplace. Learn more.
Belk – A department store that has embraced a marketplace model, with a strong focus on Fashion and Home and Décor. Learn more.
Etsy – Handmade, Vintage and Craft supplies. Learn more.
Wish – Curated marketplaces with various categories, popular among bargain-hunters. Learn more.
Lowes – A successful online store with a curated marketplace using selected suppliers. Learn more.
Home Depot – This DIY giant now operates a thriving marketplace. Learn more.
Houzz – A Home and Décor-oriented marketplace. Learn more.
Newegg – Electronics marketplace with a loyal following. Learn more.
Bonanza – A unique marketplace with a dash of style. Learn more.
Cratejoy – A specialist marketplace for subscription boxes. Learn more.
Eworldtrade – A popular B2B sourcing platform, sort of a US version of Alibaba.com. Learn more.
