What you need to know
Amazon is a business that should need no introduction in the UK market. It is the outright leader in the online retail market, holding a 23% share, and is now the fifth-largest retailer, with estimated UK GTV revenue of £13.7 billion in 2018, and largest non-food retailer, behind only the big four grocery multiples. It is a retailer that has driven and rode best the winds of change in the past decade and one that, despite the fact that the vast majority (88%) of UK consumers have shopped with in the last year, has significant room for further growth.
However, Amazon is far more than simply a retailer. Ignore its significant cloud computing business, it is also a major player in the media streaming and consumer electronics markets. Indeed half (50%) of UK households now contain an Amazon-produced device, with the Echo (21%) now its most popular product. However, many businesses have diversified operations, but Amazon is unique, at least among the retail sector, in that it has been successful in creating an ecosystem where its customers are not simply shoppers, but equally device owners and streaming subscribers. Amazon Prime, to which 44% of UK consumers now have access, is the glue which holds this together with Prime members the most frequent Amazon shoppers, the most likely to own Amazon products and equally, as the perks of membership, those most engaged in its video and music streaming platforms.
Products covered in this Report
This Report focuses on the business of Amazon, in particular its retail business but also Prime and its consumer electronics output and how together they have created an ‘ecosystem’ in which a significant portion of the UK consumer base are now involved, in some way. To explore the growing influence of Amazon we combine specially commissioned consumer research alongside brand research and market data to place Amazon in the context of the wider market.
This is the second edition of our UK-based Report specifically analysing Amazon, the first being Amazon: A Shopper’s Perspective – UK, January 2019.
For a broader look at the online retail market in the UK see Mintel’s Online Retailing – UK, July 2019 and Online Retailing: Delivery, Collection and Returns – UK, October 2019 Reports.
