Top 25 Walmart Competitors in 2023

Are there retailers that can compete with Walmart? Uncover the 25 biggest rivals taking on Walmart's retail empire. From household names like Kroger and Costco to global players such as Reliance Retail, explore a world of affordable options.

With its immense revenue of $548.743 billion in 2020, Walmart is the world's largest company and an undeniable powerhouse in the retail market. However, the retail giant is not without formidable competition. International contenders like Reliance Retail and Carrefour also vie for market share. Although Walmart leads in revenue, these competitors provide tough competition with their wide range of goods and attractive prices.

Continue reading to discover the top 25 rivals challenging Walmart's retail dominance.

Table Of Contents

1. Amazon

With exponential growth over the past decade, Amazon has emerged as one of the world's largest online retailers, offering a diverse range of products and services.

Key Statistics:

• Competitive Pricing: Amazon often provides lower prices than brick-and-mortar stores like Walmart.
• Market Dominance: Amazon holds a significant share of the e-commerce industry.
• Extensive Product Selection: Amazon offers a wide range of products and services.

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2. Target

Target has established itself as a strong competitor in the retail industry by offering a wide range of products at competitive prices. Its online presence and efficient click-and-collect program have further boosted its success in capturing online orders and delivering value to customers.

Key statistics:

• Target's same-store sales grew 19.3% year over year in 2020.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Target quickly adapted to changing customer demand.
• Target invested heavily in expanding and deepening its supply chain capabilities.
• The company fulfilled more digital orders from stores than ever before.

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3. Costco

Costco is a membership-only retail store that operates globally with over 804 warehouses, including 558 in the United States. It offers bulk supply at low prices.

Key Statistics:

• 804 warehouses worldwide, with 558 in the United States
• Presence in multiple countries, including Canada, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Taiwan, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Japan, and France
• Revenue of 2.14 billion in 2020, a remarkable achievement for a membership-only retail store

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4. Kroger

Kroger stands as one of Walmart's biggest rivals. Like Walmart, Kroger offers a wide range of grocery items and features a pharmacy in nearly every store.

Kroger goes beyond groceries by providing affordable furniture, outdoor decor, household items, toys, games, and fuel. To maximize savings, customers can take advantage of Kroger's loyalty card.

Key Statistics:

• Kroger's revenue in 2020: $122.286 billion
• Kroger boasts competitive prices and a robust e-commerce platform.
• Nationwide presence with 3,000+ store locations.

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5. Walgreens

Walgreens has emerged as a strong competitor in the retail industry, experiencing significant growth and holding a 19.1% market share. This puts them ahead of Walmart, which currently holds a 4.7% market share.

Key statistics:

• Market share: 19.1% Walmart market share - 4.7%
• Walgreens offers prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and supplements, health care products, and beauty supplies.
• They offer convenient home delivery services for customers who are unable or prefer not to visit a physical store.

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6. Alibaba

Alibaba, a renowned online shopping platform, has captured the attention of consumers worldwide. With its marketplace opening for American suppliers in 2019, it quickly established itself as a competitor to Walmart. With various innovative features, Alibaba has become an attractive destination for sellers and buyers.

Key Statistics:

• Over 903 million active buyers
• Alipay simplifies payment transactions
• Tmall Global connects global brands to Chinese consumers
• Cainiao Network enables international shipments within two days for select markets

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7. Best Buy

Best Buy, a leading consumer electronics retailer in the United States, poses a significant challenge to Walmart with its innovative ship-from-store capabilities and integrated strategy. The company operates 1,043 stores nationwide, almost half leveraging its Ship-from-Store program.

Key Statistics:

• Best Buy's growing focus on business analytics enables it to gain valuable insights into consumer habits and purchasing decisions on its platform.
• Best Buy's Ship-from-Store program has resulted in a remarkable 242% increase in domestic online sales.

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8. Tesco

Tesco is a retail powerhouse that began with market stalls in London's East End in 1919 and has grown into an international giant. Tesco's competition with Walmart, which started with their acquisition of ASDA Group Ltd. in 1999 (later sold in 2021), has been ongoing for almost two decades.

Key statistics:

• Over 4,500 stores across 12 countries
• Nearly 30% market share in the UK
• Annual revenue of $84.139 billion in 2022

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9. Albertsons

Albertsons is a popular grocery chain in the United States, known for its competitive prices on a wide range of food and household items.

Key statistics:

• Over 2,200 locations across the United States
• Generated revenue of more than $69 billion in 2020

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10. ALDI

ALDI is a German-based company that operates two discount supermarket chains. Founded in 1946 by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht, ALDI emerged from their mother's store, Essen, which had been running for over 30 years. In 1960, the family business split into Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd.

Key Statistics:

• Aldi Nord manages approximately 2,500 stores in Germany, excluding the southern regions.
• Aldi Süd owns 1,600 stores in the western and southern parts of Germany.
• Globally, Aldi Nord operates exclusively in Europe, including countries like Benelux, France, and Portugal.

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11. Giant Eagle

Giant Eagle is a supermarket chain known for its affordable prices and wide range of food items, including fresh and frozen foods.

Key Statistics:

• It has more than 474 locations across select states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia.
• Revenue in 2020: $9.7 billion.
• Comparable to Walmart in terms of prices.

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12. Home Depot

Home Depot, founded in 1978 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a leading home improvement retailer with a global presence, operating approximately 2,269 stores worldwide. The company offers various construction materials, tools, fittings, lawn and garden products, and more.

Key Statistics:

• Revenues in 2020: $132.1 billion
• Profits in 2020: $12.9 billion
• Same-store sales growth due to One Home Depot strategy: 25%
• Home Depot's eCommerce strategy contributes to its competitive advantage

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13. Wish

Wish, an online marketplace, is a lesser-known competitor to Walmart. It offers a wide range of products at incredibly low prices, attracting 600 million registered users. Despite controversies about product quality, Wish has shown promising growth potential.

Key Statistics:

• Wish is an online marketplace with a vast array of products.
• It boasts 600 million registered users since its launch.
• The platform offers products at unbelievably low prices, such as $8 for a set of knives and $3 for a T-shirt.
• Wish generated total revenue of $1.9 billion last year, doubling its previous year's earnings.

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14. eBay

Once a popular platform, eBay still competes with Walmart by offering a wide range of consumer goods, electronics, and other items. However, as an auction website, eBay prices may be higher than Walmart's.

Key statistics:

• eBay is a well-established online marketplace.
• It offers a diverse selection of products, including limited-edition and collectible items.
• The platform allows individuals to sell their own goods.

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15. Rakuten

Rakuten Group is a formidable competitor to Walmart in Japan. It operates various services, including banking, eCommerce, investment, and streaming (Rakuten TV).

Key Statistics:

• Offers cash-back incentives to buyers
• Net revenue of $15.238 billion, a 3.36% increase year-over-year

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16. Carrefour Group

With a widespread presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa, Carrefour employs over 319,565 individuals globally and operates 13,500+ stores across 30 countries.

Key Statistics:

• Reported earnings of $87.888 billion in 2021
• Achieved a growth rate of 6.64%
• Experienced a surge in online sales during the 2020 pandemic

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17. Kohl's

Kohl's competes strongly against Walmart by offering a diverse array of products ranging from clothing and shoes to home goods. By consistently organizing frequent sales and discounts, Kohl's effectively challenges Walmart's competitive pricing.

Key Statistics:

• Over 1,100 department stores nationwide
• Impressive net worth of $10 billion
• Known for frequent sales and discounts to compete on price
• Strong competition against Walmart

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18. JCPenney

JCPenney is a renowned department store in the United States, established in 1902 and one of the oldest in the country.  Despite its longstanding presence, the company has encountered significant challenges recently, leading to its filing for bankruptcy in 2020.

Key Statistics:

• Over 850 stores across the US
• Wide variety of fashion and home products
• Estimated worth of $1 billion

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19. IKEA

IKEA is a global furniture retailer that competes directly with Walmart in the home goods and furniture market. It is known for offering affordable prices on its products.

Key Statistics:

• IKEA operates over 445 stores worldwide, including the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden, and Russia.
• In 2020, IKEA generated revenue of 39.6 billion euros, a significant achievement given its relatively small number of stores.

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20. Etsy

Etsy is a unique online marketplace catering to artists, home crafters, and vintage enthusiasts. It stands out from other alternatives to Walmart because it focuses on handmade goods and vintage items rather than offering a wide range of product categories like groceries and apparel.

Key Statistics:

• Etsy charges a minimal starting fee of just 20¢ for sellers to open a shop without any additional monthly or subscription fees.
• Sellers can list their products for four months with the 20¢ fee.
• Vintage items are also available on Etsy, appealing to sellers who are 20 years old and above.

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21. Lowe's

Lowe's is an American retail home improvement company with over 2,000 stores in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1921 by Lucius Smith Lowe, it is now the second-largest hardware chain in the US, following Home Depot.

Key Statistics:

• Revenue: $68.619B (2018)
• Over 2,000 home improvement and hardware stores
• A workforce of over 300,000 in North America

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22. Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market is a well-known grocery chain specializing in high-quality products, especially organic and preservative-free foods. Unlike its competitor Walmart, Whole Foods focuses on smaller offerings of superior goods that cater to specific shoppers seeking less processed and plant-based alternatives.

Key Statistics:

• Offers higher quality organic food items.
• Provides foods free from artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, and sweeteners.
• Collaborates with over 1,400 independent local farmers and vendors to ensure fresh ingredients.
• Maintains a commitment to sustainability and avoids GMO ingredients and pesticides.

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23.

Founded in 1963, CVS Health Corporation is a prominent pharmacy chain headquartered in Woonsocket, RI. With an extensive network of 9,900 stores and 1,100 walk-in medical clinics across the United States, CVS serves an impressive 92 million members.

Key Statistics:

• CVS generated $91 billion in retail and pharmacy revenues in 2020.
• Holding 24.8% of the market, CVS faces competition from Walmart's drugstores, which claim a market share of 4.7%.

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24. Instacart

Instacart is a leading on-demand food delivery service operating in over 5,500 cities and towns across North America. It has witnessed significant growth and expansion.

Key Statistics:

• Instacart added more than 300,000 personal shoppers from March 2020 to April 2021.
• The company partners with over 600 retailers and delivers from about 45,000 stores.
• In March 2021, Instacart raised $265 million in funding, increasing its valuation to $39 billion.

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25. Reliance Retail in India

Reliance Retail in India attracts customers by offering remarkably low prices. With a revenue of billions in 2020, it is the largest retailer in India.

Key statistics:

• Wide range of products, including groceries, shoes, home improvement items, electronics, toys, and farming supplies
• Low prices to attract customers
• The largest retailer in India

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Final Thought

While Walmart remains the dominant force in the retail market with its huge revenue, several formidable competitors are vying for market share. Retailers like Amazon, Costco, Kroger, and Target offer competitive prices, extensive product selections, and innovative strategies to challenge Walmart's retail empire. Additionally, international contenders like Reliance Retail and  Carrefour provide tough competition with their wide range of goods and attractive pricing. As the retail landscape continues to evolve, these top 25 rivals pose a significant challenge to Walmart's dominance.

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