In November 2024, Google.com was the most popular website worldwide with 136 billion average monthly visits. The online platform has held the top spot as the most popular website since June 2010, when it pulled ahead of Yahoo into first place. Second-ranked YouTube generated more than 72.8 billion monthly visits in the measured period. The internet leaders: search, social, and e-commerce Social networks, search engines, and e-commerce websites shape the online experience as we know it. While Google leads the global online search market by far, YouTube and Facebook have become the world’s most popular websites for user generated content, solidifying Alphabet’s and Meta’s leadership over the online landscape. Meanwhile, websites such as Amazon and eBay generate millions in profits from the sale and distribution of goods, making the e-market sector an integral part of the global retail scene. What is next for online content? Powering social media and websites like Reddit and Wikipedia, user-generated content keeps moving the internet’s engines. However, the rise of generative artificial intelligence will bring significant changes to how online content is produced and handled. ChatGPT is already transforming how online search is performed, and news of Google's 2024 deal for licensing Reddit content to train large language models (LLMs) signal that the internet is likely to go through a new revolution. While AI's impact on the online market might bring both opportunities and challenges, effective content management will remain crucial for profitability on the web.

The website mercadolibre.cl received over ** million individual visitors in Chile during April 2025, with most of the visits coming from desktop devices. The website of Falabella received over ** million visits from mobile devices, and over * million from desktop devices. The website of Mercado Libre in Chile also led in organic visits in the South American country.

Amazon's global platform 'amazon.com' was the most popular e-commerce and shopping website worldwide, accounting for more than ***** percent of desktop visits to sites in this category in April 2024. Second place went to eBay.com with roughly three percent. Amazon leads the way There is no denying the dominance of Amazon in the e-commerce industry. By 2026, Amazon's worldwide net sales are estimated to exceed *** trillion U.S. dollars. In 2022, amazon.com garnered over ***** billion monthly visitors, maintaining its spot as the most popular retail website worldwide. As of April 2024, the leading social media traffic referrers to amazon.com were YouTube, Facebook, and X. Online shopping Amazon’s strong position is also due to shoppers’ preference for online marketplaces. As of April 2024, nearly ********* of online consumers opted for online marketplaces over all other digital channels. This category of platforms was also ranked as the e-commerce channel delivering the best customer experience in 2024. According to shoppers worldwide, the ***** most important changes that could make their digital shopping experience better were faster delivery, free returns, and more convenient shipping conditions.

As of June 2021, Amazon was the most visited e-commerce site in the United States, recording approximately **** billion monthly visits to Amazon.com. eBay ranked second, with more than *** million visits per month, while Walmart came in third, surpassing *** million.

Online retail in a nutshell Online retail in the United States is a multi-billion dollar sector of business-to-consumer transactions where goods and services are sold via the internet. There are several business models at play here with the likes of Walmart, Home Depot, or Target based on brick-and-mortar stores whereas others such as Amazon, eBay, or Etsy are designated online marketplaces. It also includes eBay which allows third-party or private sellers to market their goods.

Online retail sites enable customers to browse through a range of products before placing them into an electronic shopping cart. Unlike their retail counterparts, online retail sites are not bound to a physical location or limited by store opening hours, and as such, have proven themselves immensely convenient for consumers. Apparel & accessories and computers & consumer electronics are some of the most popular e-commerce categories in the United States.

Fast-growing retailers In addition to being the most visited retail site in the United States, Amazon also accounts for the vast majority of e-commerce sales. Over the past few years, Amazon’s retail sales in the United States have grown steadily, however, competition in this space is growing strong. Etsy, followed closely by Walmart and Target, are among the companies that recorded the fastest online retail sales growth in 2021.

In December 2023, Amazon.com was the leading online shopping website in the United States. During the measured period, the sprawling platform accounted for over 45 percent of desktop traffic in the e-commerce and shopping subcategory. In second place on the list was eBay.com, with 9.22 percent of visitors. Walmart ranked third with a bit less than six percent of web traffic. Why customers browse on Amazon The main reason behind the outstanding online traffic to Amazon is user behavior throughout the customer journey. Amazon serves as a search engine for U.S. consumers, with 73 percent browsing it for inspiration and product discovery. Another 65 percent of U.S. shoppers landed on Amazon to look for products and compare products. In turn, Google is left third in the ranking of most used platforms. Generational differences In the beauty segment, the customer journey is more likely to start on Amazon among senior consumers. In the United States, 44 percent of Baby Boomers started their search of beauty products on the marketplace, while only 35 percent of Gen Z consumers reported doing the same.

According to a research conducted in July 2019, ibs.it was the most visited e-commerce bookstore website in Italy. As regards the device utilized for accessing the leading websites in this category, it was found that mobile devices were largely preferred than desktop devices. Indeed, almost ** percent of the visits to ibs.it took place through smartphone or tablet, while only ***** percent of the times the website was accessed via desktop devices.

Mobile phones dominate global digital commerce website visits and contribute to the largest share of online orders. As of the first quarter of 2025, smartphones constituted around ** percent of retail site traffic globally, responsible for generating ** percent of online shopping orders. Marketplace momentum Retail e-commerce has significantly increased globally over the past few years. Currently, the leading countries in retail e-commerce growth, such as the Philippines, have seen an increase of up to ** percent. In 2024, the majority of online purchases worldwide were made on online marketplaces, incurring around a ** percent share of consumer purchases. The top four retail websites for consumers to visit globally were all marketplaces, with the leading website being Amazon.com. Converting clicks When shopping online, website visits often do not end in purchases. This can be due to having second thoughts when online shopping, or simply due to consumers using the platforms to search for products. In 2025, the conversion rate of online shoppers globally was under * percent, with beauty & skincare incurring the highest conversion rate from online purchases. Across the globe, almost ** percent of all retail sales were conducted online. This figure is forecast to increase to at least ** percent by 2027.

In January 2025, fragrantica.com ranked as the most visited beauty and cosmetics website worldwide. The site attracted nearly ** million website visits that month, followed by sephora.com with around ** million. Boots.com placed third in the ranking, with roughly ** million website visits.

In recent years, the purchase of cosmetics online has started being very widespread among Italian consumers. According to a research conducted in July 2019 on the leading cosmetics e-commerce websites in Italy, it was established that sephora.it and avon.it were the most visited websites in this category. It was also found that online buyers preferred visiting cosmetics websites via mobile devices, such as smartphones and tables. Indeed, only **** percent of the visits to sephora.it took place via desktop devices.

In May 2022, the Japanese domain of Rakuten was the leading e-commerce website in the Asia-Pacific region, with over *** million average monthly visits. Amazon.com followed with approximately *** million average monthly visits as the second most visited e-commerce website in the Asia-Pacific region in May 2022.

In November 2024, Google.com held the top spot in India's website rankings, averaging over **** billion monthly visits. YouTube ranked second, with traffic of **** billion visits, while social platforms Instagram.com and Facebook.com followed with *** million and *** million monthly visits each. Internet penetration In the past decade, India has witnessed a remarkable transformation in its digital landscape. This substantial expansion has resulted in extensive digital connectivity, with more than **** of India's *** billion citizens now enjoying internet access. India ranked **** on the Digital Quality of Life Index in 2023, which revealed electronic infrastructure as one of the country’s strengths. YouTube in India As of 2025, India had the world’s largest YouTube user base, figuring over *** million users. The video platform caters to the nation’s tech-savvy denizens as an educational resource and a source of entertainment. Moreover, YouTube has evolved into a dynamic space for digital marketing, especially harnessing the consumer base segment aged below 32 years.

In December 2024, amazon.com ranked as the most visited retail website in Spain. That month, the marketplace garnered over *** million website visitors. aliexpress.com ranked second, with around ** million visitors.

In February 2025, jomashop.com ranked as the most visited jewelry and luxury goods website worldwide. That month, the premium site garnered over ************* website visitors. Therealreal.com ranked second, with around ************* visitors, followed by saksfifthavenue.com at about ***********.

As of August 2024, among the top ten classified websites worldwide, craigslist.org experienced the highest number of pages per visit. During a session, online consumers browsed an average of ***** pages on craigslist. The website finn.no followed with around ***** pages per visit.

In 2024, most of the online traffic leading to beauty and personal care e-commerce sites in Europe came from direct search. Search accounted for around ** percent of traffic to beauty and personal sites. Furthermore, social media platforms generated about ** percent of the traffic.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Amazon was the most visited e-commerce platform in France, with an average **** million unique monthly visitors. Leboncoin came in second place, with an average traffic of **** million monthly visitors.

As of April 2023, Amazon was by far the most popular online marketplace worldwide, averaging about *** billion visits that month. The second most visited shopping site was eBay, with roughly *** billion visits. In addition, both were also the world' s top online retailers in terms of mobile web traffic.

As of March 2024, ulta.com registered around ** million monthly visits in the United States. Qvc.com ranked second, with roughly ***** million visits that month. Sephora.com followed with approximately ***** million website visits. Sephora- the U.S. favorite Sephora is an omnichannel beauty retailer founded in Paris, France. The beauty retailer has achieved significant success in the United States, both on the high street and online. Sephora.com generates more than ***** billion U.S. dollars in e-commerce net sales through its online store, representing a six-fold increase in only six years. When comparing its app’s popularity worldwide, the U.S. leads the ranking, even surpassing its origin country in terms of downloads. Sephora's app downloads in the U.S. have exploded since September 2022, going from ******* to over ****** in November 2023. The latest generation of beauty shoppers Generation Z, or Gen Z, are young adults and the latest consumers of beauty online. In the United States, around ********** of Gen Z consumers purchased make-up-related goods online in 2023. Their peers and social media especially influence this age group when it comes to online purchases of cosmetics. Most Gen Z shoppers in the U.S. read reviews and look at pictures and videos of other shoppers before deciding to buy beauty products. Social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram are also important online sources for these beauty connoisseurs. Nearly *** out of ten shoppers use TikTok to help with their beauty purchase decision, and around **** out of ten use Instagram. To complete their orders, specialty beauty retailers are Gen Z's favorite online shopping channels. These sites are, for example, sephora.com and ulta.com.

In February 2025, jomashop.com ranked as the most visited website in the jewelry and luxury product industry. That month, around **** users visited the site, of which *** million visits came from desktop users and approximately *** million from users on mobile devices. Therealreal.com ranked second, with about *** million users visiting the site from desktops and roughly four million from mobiles.

Online retail websites have made strong traffic gains due to the global coronavirus pandemic as large parts of the population are staying at home and ordering items online which they usually would purchase in-store. Amazon.com had a monthly traffic of almost 3.2 billion visitors in 2022, followed by eBay.com with nearly 590 million visits on each month.