While Amazon Remains the Ecommerce Leader, It Could Be Set for Disruption

Despite its market dominance, the retail giant faces new threats

The world’s largest retailer, Amazon, has experienced continued growth. Notably in the last two years, it has acted as a lifeline to many around the world when physical shopping was not possible and its entertainment platform was in higher demand than ever as people were forced to stay home.

As a result, Amazon has remained the world’s most valuable brand for the third year running in 2021. In the past year, the impact of diversification and the pandemic combined to add 64% to its global brand value, propelling it through the half-trillion-dollar barrier to $684 billion. The major driver for Amazon remains its home market of the United States, where its retail business accounts for more than 50% of its total value.

However, Amazon has not been without its critics and faces challenges across a number of fronts, from data privacy to employment practices. But these are more relevant to its regulatory environment. For ordinary consumers, the brand continues to build its reputation as the easiest place to find anything you want.

It is Amazon’s continued innovation and expansion in retail that are at the core of its extraordinary growth and success.


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Unlike many of the world’s category leaders, Amazon’s brand equity has not only given it huge Power—the ability to command a high volume share in its market—it has also retained the highest Potential of any similar retailer. Potential is the key indicator of long-term and short-term growth based on current consumer attitudes.

Recent analysis identified four fundamentals of brand management that, on average, drive around 70% of consumer demand. These are Experience, Exposure, Function and Convenience. Amazon has a huge advantage on each of these fundamental pillars, led by a supreme consumer experience. The online retail giant has set the bar for range and ecommerce functionality as well as for one-click, frictionless convenience. More recently, increased media spend has improved its overall exposure too.

Entertainment makes up less than 10% of Amazon’s brand value. However, Amazon Prime Video is quickly growing its brand equity in streaming, in both the U.S. and the rest of the world, with a high share of viewer demand in seven out of the eight largest economies. With the continued development of its own content, it presents a highly differentiated offer compared to terrestrial broadcasters and has enormous room for future growth.


Amazon has few competitors of any concern in retail, but in 2021 the domestic market has seen a resurgence for some of its largest offline competitors, including Walmart, Lowe’s and The Home Depot. The true threat in the future may, however, come from the emerging ecommerce models developing in China-based entertainment and engagement platforms such as Tmall, TikTok and Pinduoduo.

If these social, community, event and gamified approaches to retailing can be replicated in the U.S. and other large economies, Amazon could potentially be disrupted. While the ecommerce leader has proven to be the place you can find anything you need, the next retail giant will be the place that reveals to you what you really desire.