ie8 fix

Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

Amazon now one-third of all U.S. e-commerce, analyst says

By | April 15, 2009, 4:52am PDT

Summary: Amazon could be responsible for nearly a third of all U.S. e-commerce transactions, RBC Capital analyst Stephen Ju asserted in a research note this morning via Barron’s. Amazon’s reported revenues are a mix of gross revenues from its own businesses plus net third-party commissions. Amazon’s never given concrete figures for these two areas other than as [...]

Amazon could be responsible for nearly a third of all U.S. e-commerce transactions, RBC Capital analyst Stephen Ju asserted in a research note this morning via Barron’s.

Amazon’s reported revenues are a mix of gross revenues from its own businesses plus net third-party commissions. Amazon’s never given concrete figures for these two areas other than as a percentage of units shipped, but the question is simple: how much third-party gross merchandise value is flowing through Amazon?

How much e-commerce is Amazon is actually facilitating?

According to Ju, it’s close to one-third and Amazon continues to gain share. Which is incredible, and notable in a deepening global recession.

The novelty of Amazon really hit home in the U.S. when it became widely-known that you could buy products online without paying sales tax. That fire continues to be stoked state by state, but if you think about just how much sales volume Amazon represents, it’s a wonder the federal government hasn’t had more inroads in the situation.

Still, all hasn’t been rosy in Seattle. The recent “Amazonfail” flareup over items that were incorrectly tagged as “adult” certainly hurt the online retailer, but a minor issue with the Kindle 2 hasn’t appeared to have hurt that product’s sales. What’s more, eBay made moves yesterday to get leaner and meaner.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Topics

Andrew J. Nusca is associate editor of ZDNet and editor of SmartPlanet.

Disclosure

Andrew Nusca

Andrew J. Nusca does not hold any investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Andrew Nusca

Editor

Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor at ZDNet and editor of SmartPlanet. As a journalist based in New York City, he has written for Popular Mechanics and Men's Vogue and his byline has appeared in New York magazine, The Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Editor & Publisher, New York Press and many others. He also writes The Editorialiste, a media criticism blog.

He is a New York University graduate and former news editor and columnist of the Washington Square News. He is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has been named "Howard Kurtz, Jr." by film critic John Lichman despite having no relation to him. He lives in his native Philadelphia with his wife, cat and Boston Terrier.

Follow him on Twitter.

12
Comments

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: Amazon now one-third of all U.S. e-commerce, analyst says
erapka@... 17th Apr 2009
Re the sales-tax advantage, some states are already
moving in on closing the "loop-hole," notably California.
On the CA 540 the past few years, there's been a line
labeled "Use Tax" which asks the filer to list all out-of-
state purchases that were not taxed...and the state will
conveniently deduct the equivalent sales tax (called a "Use
Tax") from your refund. The past few years have been trial
balloons, but this year it's become integrated into the
whole filing mechanism. In a year or two, it'll probably be
automated and the state will present you with a bill
whether you volunteer the information or not.

EAR

0 Votes
+ -
Wow..... 1/3 of all U.S. e-commerce
Lerianis 15th Apr 2009
No wonder they are having problems with their website going down on occasion and especially during the holiday season.

I don't know..... 1/3 of all U.S. e-commerce.... is that getting close to a monopoly? Or is there someone out there with even more of a majority than Amazon.
0 Votes
+ -
Watch out, Obama and crowd will impose TAXES on
everything then watch it collapse.
0 Votes
+ -
Obama won't tax it, states will
waltsyd 15th Apr 2009
The individual states want to tax internet sales, not the Federal Government. Sales tax is used by states. Learn the facts before blaming any and everything on President Obama.
0 Votes
+ -
fanboy
luke99s@... Updated - 15th Apr 2009
CALM DOWN BAMA FANBOY. States would already be raping us for sales tax if the federal government wasn't in the way making it difficult (and blue states are trying everything they can to find taxable loopholes via the "affiliate" premise... i.e. New York).

The Obama states are all going broke, so it is easy to assume a pro tax executive will relieve those federal tax restrictions (gotta spread that wealth and prop up his broke Blue states).

Quit living in a bubble and read something besides the Oprah Magazine, and try not to spill your latte on the Macbook when you do.

Read:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/court-to-amazon-keep-collecting-sales-tax-to-new-yorkers/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9919420-7.html

I'm so sick of ignorant Fan Boys.
Do I lead a sheltered life or is "Amazonfail" only something of local interest in Seattle?

BTW the article needs correcting. If an individual buys an item from an out of state source the individual is responsible for paying their local and state sales taxes!

When states get wind of the money they are are owed the least they will do is require sellers to send a list of buyers to the state's revenue department.

Terry Thomas...
the photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
www.TerryThomasPhotos.com
0 Votes
+ -
eBay: Thumbs Down
WindowWasher 15th Apr 2009
"What?s more, eBay made moves yesterday to get leaner and meaner."

Stick a fork in eBay, they're done.

That company has been going downhill since John Doughtnuthole started his ANTI-SELLER campaigns last year. The company has been in a slide every since. eBay will never return until the current management slate is GONE. Until then, sellers are still leaving in droves. It is probably already too late.
0 Votes
+ -
I agree! (nt)
Speednet 15th Apr 2009
nt
0 Votes
+ -
I buy from Amazon all the time
DadsPad 15th Apr 2009
I purchase books (and sometimes other things like CD's) with them. Sometimes paperbacks are buy 3 get one free, sometimes get better deal. I also use their trading partners go get better pricing. A book the Amazon might sell for $17 I can find for $.01 (plus #3.99 shipping) for a very good used book there, and they are rated for service and fast shipping.

Don't like E-Bay for purchasing.
0 Votes
+ -
...
Amazon sells fur. Boycott them completely!
Amazon is a really diversified company. It's not just plain online retailer. It's kindle device and cloud computing initiative has been making waves.

www.http://www.stockozone.com/2009/04/amazon-strong-and-getting-stronger.html
Re the sales-tax advantage, some states are already
moving in on closing the "loop-hole," notably California.
On the CA 540 the past few years, there's been a line
labeled "Use Tax" which asks the filer to list all out-of-
state purchases that were not taxed...and the state will
conveniently deduct the equivalent sales tax (called a "Use
Tax") from your refund. The past few years have been trial
balloons, but this year it's become integrated into the
whole filing mechanism. In a year or two, it'll probably be
automated and the state will present you with a bill
whether you volunteer the information or not.

EAR

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix