Walmart is the world’s biggest chain. It’s no secret the culture prides itself on low prices. Operating 11,500 store across 27 countries, Walmart generates $514 billion in revenue yearly. It operates in both retail and wholesale markets and has various store types. With a solid omnichannel approach, you would think the behemoth would have a lock on the industry. It was founded in 1962 in Bentonville, and today it employs over 2.5 million people. Below we explore ten companies who directly compete with Walmart and its market share.
1. Amazon
- Founded: 1994
- Headquarters: Seattle, WA
Need to Know
Amazon is Walmart’s top competitor. It is a perfect example of how technology can aid a business and should never be underestimated. Amazon is a global ecommerce platform. Walmart’s ecommerce marketplace has a seemingly impressive 70,000 sellers, but it cannot compare to Amazon’s 2 million U.S. sellers. This number is projected to increase to 7.5 million global sellers by the end of 2022.
Amazon’s ecommerce sales bring in $367 billion while Walmart’s only account for $64 billion. Currently Amazon generates 40% of all ecommerce sales in the U.S. In 2020, Amazon made an impressive $470 billion. Walmart took first in the market edging out Amazon at $523 billion in revenue. While Walmart seems to have a higher revenue overall, it has a long way to go if it wants to keep up in the ecommerce sector.
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2. Target
- Founded: 1902
- Headquarters: Minneapolis, MN
Need to Know
Target is the third largest discount retailer in the world. It competes directly with Walmart both offline and online. Target’s revenue sources are evenly spread out amongst several categories with 24% of its income coming from beauty care products, 20% from apparel, 20% from grocery, and 19% from its furniture sales.
In 2020, Target grabbed $6 billion dollars of the competition’s market share including a portion of Walmart’s. Its revenue grew by 20% in 2020 and another 13% in 2021 to top $106 billion. Walmart’s revenue only grew by a total of 9% in 2020. Target excels at elevating the shopping experience for its consumers by utilizing wider aisles, department store merchandising, and trendy designs while Walmart focuses on offering products at the lowest prices.
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3. Costco
- Founded: 1983
- Headquarters: Issaquah, WA
Need to Know
In the land of brick-and-mortar giants, Costco will almost always make the cut. Costco focuses on bulk sales and is a members-only retailer. It generates $163 billion annually and has a 90% membership renewal rate. With over 94 million cardholders, it’s no wonder it made the list. Costco caters to both families and businesses with its bulk-style offerings.
If customer service is important to you, you may want to check out Costco where it outranks Walmart by a large margin in both the quality of customer service and how it treats and pays its employees. Currently its sales are about one quarter of Walmart’s, but it operates five times less stores. The brick-and-mortar giant opened 22 stores in 2021 with more on the way threatening Walmart where it hurts the most, in brick-and-mortar retail.
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4. Alibaba
- Founded: 1999
- Headquarters: Hangzhou, China
Need to Know
Consider Alibaba the Chinese version of Amazon. It is one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms. It operates in over 200 companies and directly competes with Walmart and Amazon in the online space. American suppliers have been able to be a part of Alibaba’s marketplace since 2019, and the giant attracted more than 10 million American businesses within one year. Amazon and Alibaba are Walmart’s fiercest e-commerce competitors.
Alibaba is making great strides within the American market. It is paying special attention to the business-to-business sector. Alibaba has both the technical and financial resources to become the biggest challenger in the ecommerce industry. Currently it sits at an annual revenue that is one third of Amazon’s, but it has put itself in a dominant position within the American market.
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5. IKEA
- Founded: 1943
- Headquarters: Almhult, Sweden
Need to Know
IKEA is the largest global furniture retailer. You might be wondering why it made the list. In 2020, IKEA’s online sales increased by 45%! It has continued to dominate the furniture sector directly competing with Walmart. IKEA has earned the trust of millions of consumers worldwide and sells a whopping 12,000 products. It is Walmart’ largest competitor in the furniture sector.
Both IKEA and Walmart are synonymous with low prices, but their approaches couldn’t be more different. Walmart focuses on the lowest prices it can offer. IKEA focuses on connecting with its customers through its products while maintaining quality and affordability. It has also begun to put more emphasis on sustainability and recycling its products.
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6. Kroger
- Founded: 1883
- Headquarters: Cincinnati, OH
Need to Know
Kroger is by far the oldest business on our list. It has been around since 1883. Kroger is now a multinational company, the largest grocery store in the United States, and one of the largest retailers worldwide based on revenue. The brand boasts more than 2,800 retail locations which include supermarkets, ecommerce venues, and multi-department stores.
The supermarket giant has earned the trust of its customers over the years and most remain loyal to the brand. One in three Americans purchases groceries from a Kroger store. With a competitive market, Kroger has proven it has what it takes to compete. While Walmart selects its products based on the lowest prices it can offer its customers, Kroger takes a different approach. It selects only the best quality products to offer its customers meaning customers have access to better quality meats and produce when compared to Walmart.
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7. The Home Depot
- Founded: 1978
- Headquarters: Marietta, GA
Need to Know
The Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the world. It currently sits at number 86 on the list of top 1000 global brands while Walmart sits at 104th. It sells everything from tools, hardware, gardening equipment, and plants, to appliances, and construction products. The brand operates a massive 22,000 stores across North America offering over one million products online and another 35,000 products in its stores.
The Home Depot’s net income is actually greater than Walmart’s. In 2021, The Home Depot had a net income of $11 billion while Walmart only had a net of $6 billion earning The Home Depot double that of its competitor. Another reason The Home Depot remains a strong competitor to the retail giant is its growth. Over the last year its online sales grew by more than 26% outpacing Walmart. The retailer also boasts a Net Promoter Score of 29 while Walmart sits at 14.
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8. Aldi
- Founded: 1961
- Headquarters: Essen, Germany
Need to Know
Aldi has made a name for itself outside of its humble German beginnings and exploded across the United States. Both Aldi and Walmart utilize value pricing strategies. Aldi thrives in setting itself apart by seizing opportunities in underserved community markets. Where most stores see financial hardship, Aldi sees its market share.
The company outpaces Walmart in terms of grocery products offered. Aldi offers its customers 30,000 different products to Walmart’s 15,000. Walmart chooses its product offerings based on the lowest possible prices. Aldi takes a different approach to keep its prices low. It strips down the shopping experience in order to provide its higher quality products at the lowest prices.
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9. Walgreens
- Founded: 1901
- Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Need to Know
Walgreens got its start as a humble drugstore. In 2014, the brand merged with Alliance Boots. It operates 9,560 stores across the United States. The company has always been customer-centric and continues to build its brand around customer service, health care, and its pharmacies. It currently sits at number 394 on the global 1,000 brands list and has a valuation of $42 billion.
Walgreens grew by 11.5% in 2018 generating over $131 billion in revenue. Its sales have continued to increase year after year. This increase can be attributed to its store rebrand, new emphasis on social media marketing, and rejuvenated television advertisements. Walgreens relaunched its store brand with a new slogan, “Trusted since 1901.” The rebrand has proven to be extremely profitable for the Walmart competitor.
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10. eBay
- Founded: 1995
- Headquarters: San Jose, CA
Need to Know
eBay is another giant in the land of ecommerce and operates as an online marketplace. It held the second largest share of U.S. ecommerce sales until 2020 when Walmart overtook the company to land just behind Amazon. However, eBay remains a direct threat to Walmart’s online market. Both companies are making strides to overtake Amazon as the number one ecommerce retailer while watching out for Chinese retailer Alibaba at the same time.
The brands have invested heavily in logistics to compete with Amazon’s two-day delivery deals. Currently Walmart offers free two-day delivery to most major cities with a $35 purchase. eBay’s strengths lie in its online diversity where it operates StubHub, Marketplace, and other ecommerce outlets. eBay closes sales of $10 billion and is considered the world’s best employer, most innovative company, and sits amongst the top 500 in global companies.
Whether you’re looking for innovative products, cheap prices, or simply somewhere new to shop or browse, this list provides you with ample ideas for new discoveries to be made. Walmart is a fierce mainstay in the industry, but its competitors continue to fight with some gaining momentum and taking away its precious market share. As the internet continues to change the landscape of shopping, Walmart and its competitors will continue to battle it out for a piece of the online market share.
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