The most successful eCommerce websites of 2017 are those that have recognized the importance of having a well-integrated online presence and have adjusted themselves according to the ever-changing needs of their customer base.
In the modern age, the consumer has evolved. The days when the concept of online shopping was treated with much trepidation and apprehension by shoppers are gone. With the technology development and more secure payment methods, customers have warmed up to the idea of purchasing products online. An annual study conducted under a collaboration between comScore and UPS found that consumer behavior has tilted in favor of eCommerce. The survey included 5,000 participants who had made two or more online purchases over the last three months. Within this sample, it was found that the participants now do 51% of their shopping online, compared to 48% in 2015 and 47% in 2014.
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Sharp-eyed entrepreneurs have taken advantage of this trend and gone on to establish highly successful eCommerce websites. One good example is Jeff Bezos, the man who started Amazon as an online bookstore and later made it the behemoth that it is today. You can read more about him and other entrepreneurs like him in our list of the Most Successful Entrepreneurs of 2016.
Companies have taken note of this change in consumer behavior, and the eCommerce industry has scaled at a phenomenal rate. But it is important to realize that eCommerce is not merely a matter of setting up a website. In order to become a major player among the huge eCommerce websites, you have to position your business in such a way that your entire business model is geared towards serving your customers online. Keeping this is mind, we have compiled a list of the most successful eCommerce websites of 2017.
We have done this by taking into account four key variables to compile a comprehensive and holistic list of most successful eCommerce websites of 2016 from among the retailers in North America:
a) Number of eCommerce Annual Sales in 2016 as reported by E-Marketer. Because sales are a direct reflection of the success of an eCommerce website, we have given this variable 60% weightage.
b) Global Ranking on Alexa, which ranks a website’s popularity based on a combination of page visits and page views site over a historical period. Since a website’s popularity is a good proxy for its eventual success, we have given this variable 10% weightage.
c) Internet Retailer Performance Score (IRPS), a proprietary scoring system from Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500 report which quantifies a retailer’s success in online retail in comparison to their competitors and the overall eCommerce market, which we have given 20% weightage.
d) The size of the online company relative to the other companies on this list ranked according to the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500 report, which has been given 10% weightage in the overall score.
