In 2021, Amazon net sales were $469 billion worldwide, a 22% increase from the previous year. While the majority of Amazon’s revenue comes from the United States, the international market is responsible for about a third of the company’s net sales. The countries with the biggest Amazon markets include the U.S., Germany, the U.K., and Japan.
E-commerce continues to grow worldwide, and Amazon consistently stays at the top of global online retailers. In this article, we examine Amazon’s impact on the e-commerce industry on an international scale by looking at the latest statistics. It may surprise you to find out the extent of Amazon’s success outside the U.S.—and where the company’s revenue comes from.
Highest Amazon International Sales
In 2021, the country with the highest Amazon international sales was the U.S., with $314 billion, which is 67% of Amazon’s net revenue. The next highest market was Germany, at about $37 billion, maintaining the large gap in market share between the U.S. and the rest of the world.
The following are the top Amazon markets in the world in 2021:
- United States: $314 billion
- Germany: $37 billion
- United Kingdom: $31 billion
- Japan: $23 billion
Amazon has three primary segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). In 2021, North America accumulated $279.8 billion, International $127.7 billion, and AWS $62.2 billion.
Key Statistics:
- The U.S. was responsible for approximately 67% of Amazon’s revenue in 2021.
- E-commerce sales grew 15.2% in 2021, climbing from $787 billion to $907 billion.
- In 2021, 65% of U.S. Amazon users held a subscription to Amazon Prime.
- International sales grew from $386 billion in 2020 to $469 billion in 2021.
- 13.5% of Amazon sales come from countries besides the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Japan.
Sources: Statista, Business Wire
Amazon Sales In United States
Amazon retail sales in North America grew to $279.83 billion in 2021 from $236.28 billion in 2020, an 18% increase. The online retailer’s rapid growth hasn’t shown signs of slowing down, and analysts predict that Amazon will pass Walmart as the largest U.S. retailer by 2024.
Amazon is already the most prominent online retailer in the country, beating other popular e-commerce retailers like Walmart, Apple, and Target.
Key Statistics:
- U.S. Amazon sales have increased by 62% since 2019.
- Amazon holds 37.8% of the retail e-commerce market in the U.S., compared to second-place company Walmart with a 6.3% market share.
- North America accounts for nearly 60% of Amazon retail sales.
- In 2021, U.S. e-commerce sales reached $907 billion, 15% more than in 2020.
Sources: Business Wire, Statista, Statista
Percentage of Amazon Sales Outside of U.S.
In 2021, 33.2% of Amazon’s sales came from outside the United States, with the biggest markets being Germany, the U.K., and Japan. The rest of the world contributed $63.5 billion in revenue, which is 13.5% of the online retailer’s total earnings and 40% of Amazon’s international sales.
Germany, the second-highest sales market after the U.S., saw a 22% increase in revenue in 2021. Amazon U.K. sales shot up 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the jump in overall e-commerce sales due to the lockdown. Japan is fourth in net Amazon sales, and Amazon holds 23% of the country’s online retail market.
Key Statistics:
- 26% of Amazon sales in the third quarter of 2022 were international sales.
- Amazon international sales increased by 22% in 2021, to $127.8 billion from $104.4 billion in 2020.
- U.K. sales reached $31.9 billion in 2021, up from $26.5 billion the previous year.
- Japan provides 11% of Amazon’s global online traffic at 555 million monthly visits.
- Germany’s net Amazon sales increased by 26% from 2020 to 2021.
Sources: Statista, Amazon, Retail Gazette, Web retailer, E-commerce News
How Many Sellers Are on Amazon per Country?
Amazon has around 6.3 million sellers total, with 1.5 million active Amazon sellers in 2021. North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico) has over three million Amazon sellers, 51% of the total vendors. 25% of sellers are in European countries, including Germany, the U.K., France, and five other nations.
Number of Sellers on Amazon by Country:
- North America: 3,119,000
- Europe: 1,443,000
- India: 750,000
- Japan: 573,000
- Middle East: 72,000
- Australia: 56,000
- Brazil: 48,000
- Turkey: 17,000
- Singapore: 16,000
Key statistics:
- 58% of Amazon’s total sales are independent sales from third-party sellers.
- From April 2020 to January 2021, third-party sellers’ sales increased by 55%.
- Singapore had the highest growth of sellers in 2021, with a 222% increase.
- Of the 1.5 million total active sellers, the U.S. has 1.1 million active sellers, and the U.K. has around 280,000 active sellers.
- About 3,700 new sellers join Amazon daily.
- Amazon employs more than 1.6 million people worldwide.
Sources: The Guardian, Marketplace Pulse, Amazon, Statista, Business Insider, GeekWire
Amazon Revenue by Segment
While best known for the online retail marketplace, Amazon has numerous segments that contribute to its annual revenue and help drive growth in other parts of the company. Other income streams include Amazon Web Services (AWS), advertising, and third-party seller services.
Amazon Revenue by Segment in Q4 2021:
- Online stores: $66.08 billion
- Third-party seller services: $30.32 billion
- Amazon Web Services: $17.78 billion
- Advertising services: $9.72 billion
- Subscription services: $8.12 billion
- Physical stores: $4.69 billion
- Other: $710 million
Each segment saw growth from Q4 2020, with AWS, advertising, and online stores improving the most. AWS had 40% growth year over year (YoY) in Q4 2021 as the company continued to expand globally and develop its services in the industry.
Amazon’s advertising services increased 32% year-on-year, closing in on the leaders in online advertising, Google and Facebook. In total, Amazon Advertising earned $31 billion in 2021, double that of the company’s subscription services.
Online store sales include physical and digital products (e-books, games, music, etc.), and analysts expect global online retail sales will grow to $729.76 billion in 2022. Third-party seller revenue, which increased 11% from the previous quarter, comes from fulfillment and shipping fees and other services.
Sources: eMarketer, JungleScout
Countries With the Most Amazon Users
The country with the most Amazon users is the United States. Amazon is the most popular e-commerce site in the U.S., totaling 2.45 billion monthly visits in June 2021. For comparison, the next highest online retailer, eBay, recorded 885 million visits. Globally, Amazon has over 300 million active users.
Amazon Prime is the company’s membership program that offers free two-day shipping and other benefits, drawing 58.2% of the U.S. population or 151.9 million users. The retailer has over 200 million Prime members globally.
Key statistics:
- Amazon subscriptions provide $25.21 billion in annual revenue.
- 74.3% of Amazon Prime members are from the U.S.
- Consumers spent over $1 billion on Prime Day in 2021.
- Third-party sellers sold 11,500 products per minute on average during the holidays in 2021.
- 31% of adults in the U.S. spend $50 to $100 monthly on Amazon purchases.
- On average, U.S. Amazon Prime members spend an average of $1,400 annually on the platform.
- Amazon Prime has an expected growth of 15% in 2022, rising from 66.4 million households to 76.6 million.
Types of Amazon Sales
The three main types of third-party sellers on Amazon are:
- Private label sellers, who source generic products, typically from manufacturers in China, and sell them under a custom brand. Private label selling is a popular strategy for new sellers because it doesn’t require extensive resources or infrastructure for manufacturing and logistics.
- Manufacturers and direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, who might sell their unique products on Amazon using their own manufacturing and logistics infrastructure. Some brands choose to sell their products wholesale to Amazon sellers.
- Resellers, usually dedicated Amazon sellers or traditional retailers who buy a brand’s products wholesale and resell them on the platform. Resellers can also be retail arbitragers who buy discounted items and sell them at a higher price on Amazon.
Sellers have multiple options for how they sell on Amazon, including:
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): The seller lists their products on Amazon and sends them to an Amazon warehouse for storage, where Amazon employees pick, pack, and ship the items to customers. The seller pays fees for Amazon’s logistics services.
- Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM): The seller utilizes their own logistics operation to ship their products to customers. While cheaper, many sellers prefer the FBA program for Amazon Prime eligibility and more straightforward returns and customer service.
- Amazon Vendor: Similar to a standard wholesale agreement, in this model, Amazon buys a brand’s products in bulk and takes care of the listing, marketing, and selling.
Key statistics:
- In 2022, 58% of paid units came from third-party Amazon sellers.
- Amazon generated $103 billion in third-party seller services in 2021.
- 76% of Amazon sellers are profitable in 2022.
- 63% of sellers attain profitability within a year of starting to sell on Amazon Marketplace.
- Private label is the most popular business model, making up 59% of Amazon sellers.
- Retail arbitrage, where the sellers purchase discounted items and sell them for a higher price, increased by 22% from 2021.
- Most Amazon sellers spend less than $5,000 to start a business on the platform.
- 89% of sellers use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) as their sales method.
- Home and Kitchen is the most popular category of Amazon products among small-to-medium businesses, with 32% of sellers.
- 79% of small-to-medium businesses advertise their products on Amazon or other channels.
Sources: Codisto, Statista, JungleScout
Sources: ZipRecruiter, ZipRecruiter, Zippia
Conclusion
Amazon made $33.3 billion in net income in 2021, an astonishing 56% increase from the prior year. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and extended lockdowns that made going to the store difficult, Amazon sales were 84% higher than they had been in 2019. Amazon Prime, in particular, has been wildly successful, especially in the U.S. market, where over half of the country’s adult population holds a membership.
After researching the statistics of Amazon sales by country and the online retail giant’s global performance in multiple industries, it’s clear that Amazon will continue to expand steadily over the years.
