Amazon after 25 years in the UK - where does it stand?

Sep 22

This year, Amazon is celebrating 25 years in the UK. In 1998, the UK was the first international for the fledgling online bookseller. Since both Amazon and the online market in the UK have gone through a total transformation

Over the last quarter century, Amazon has become the biggest online retailer in the UK and the third biggest retailer.

With $30 billion in revenues in 2022, Amazon sales were exceeded only by the grocery giants Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Even the third biggest grocer, Asda, was significantly smaller than Amazon (£24,4 bn vs £20,4 bn).

Amazon is a non-food retailer whose grocery revenues are only a minuscule part of the business. When compared to the biggest non-food retailers, Amazon is by far the biggest. Amazon’s revenues are almost double that of the department store giants John Lewis Partnership and M&S. Both get more than half of their revenue from groceries.

In the top 10, Amazon is the only mainly non-food retailer.

This development can be expected in other European markets. In fact, Amazon is even bigger in Germany than in the UK. It is good to note that 25 years ago, Amazon was one of the first online retailers and got a significant headstart. The competitive situation is very different with the latest expansions in Sweden and the Netherlands. However, companies should not ignore the potential of Amazon to grow into one of the biggest non-food retailers.

What has Amazon sold over the 25 years?

Amazon UK provides an interesting depiction of the 25-year journey. The company lists the best-selling products for the quarter century in the country. In the late 90s, online was not a mainstream channel for selling products. In the post, Amazon shows the best-selling products in different categories.

“Amazon arrived in the UK 25 years ago, and a lot has changed since then. We have evolved from being an online bookseller in 1998, to offering customers millions of items including tech, toys, food, fashion, film, music and lots more. We have seen popular products stand the test of time and some trends come and go”

— John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon

There are some interesting surprises in the list:

- Books: Fifty Shades of Grey (no Harry Potter?!)

- Fashion: Crocs

- Films & DVDs: Mamma Mia

- Video games: Call of Duty & Fifa

The top 25 listing of most popular products on Amazon.co.uk illustrates what kind of products and in what categories British customers use Amazon for. The list (in alphabetical order):

- Andrex Gentle Clean Toilet Rolls (Health products)

- Bio-Oil Body Lotion 175ml + Skincare Oil (Health products)

- Call of Duty franchise (Video games)

- Cards Against Humanity: UK Edition (Games)

- Crocs (Fashion)

- Dobble (Games)

- Dots for Spots Pimple Patches (beauty)

- Duracell Plus AAA Batteries (Home)

- Earth Rated Dog Poo Bags (Pets)

- Echo Dot (Amazon Devices)

- FIFA franchise (Video games)

- Fifty Shades Trilogy (Books and ebooks)