Amazon (AMZN) has just widened its lead in the e-commerce space, putting it in a strong position ahead of the holiday season.
BloomReach Inc., an Internet marketing firm, surveyed 2,000 people and found that 55% of online shoppers check Amazon first when they’re searching for a product. That’s an 11% increase over last year’s survey. Search engines are in second place at 28%, a 6% decrease from 2015; specific retailers are now the first choice of 16% of online shoppers, down from 21% a year earlier.
“Amazon has become the reference point for shoppers,” Jason Seeba, BloomReach’s head of marketing, told Bloomberg. “Shoppers will go to Amazon first to find a product and check prices.” E-commerce is becoming increasingly important, and online sales are expected to go up to $385 billion this year, which is a 13% boost from last year; Amazon’s stock has responded in sync.
“Amazon keeps adding layers and is innovating at a faster pace than everyone, especially with Prime,” Cowen & Co. analyst John Blackledge told Bloomberg. Retailers have been attempting to compete with Amazon in the e-commerce space—Walmart (WMT), for one, recently bought e-commerce startup Jet.com for $3 billion.
It’s uncertain how effective the new addition will be in taking on Amazon, which already seems to have established itself as a leader in the online market. Blackledge estimates that Amazon had 49 million Prime subscribers as of August, and it’s continuing to grow.
Amazon could not immediately be reached for comment.
