list of e commerce businesses

We’ve all been hypnotized by that little orange badge: *“#1 Best Seller”*. Feels like a high-five from the algorithm, don’t it? But behind every “Add to Cart” is a *whole damn ecosystem*—some built in Silicon Valley penthouses, others launched from a garage in Des Moines with a Shopify trial and a dream. The list of e commerce businesses ain’t just names on a spreadsheet—it’s a living, breathing, sometimes *over-caffeinated* menagerie of hustlers, engineers, and that one guy who sells *only* custom dog bandanas shaped like tacos. So let’s cut the corporate fluff and meet the real players—big, small, weird, and wildly successful.

Back in ’95, if you wanted to buy a book online, you typed *“www.amazon.com”* like it was a spell—and held your breath. Fast-forward to 2025, and there are **over 24 million active online stores** in the US alone (Shopify + WooCommerce + BigCommerce + others). That’s more stores than there are Starbucks, Walmarts, *and* post offices *combined*. Why? Three words: barriers fell, tools rose, and TikTok made *everything* shoppable. You no longer need a warehouse, a dev team, or even decent handwriting on your packing slips. Just a phone, a product, and the audacity to believe people will pay $28 for “moon water” (yes, that’s real—and yes, it sold 12K units last month). The list of e commerce businesses is long because the dream is *wide open*.

Let’s get real—most of that $1.1T in US e-commerce revenue flows through a handful of heavyweights. Here’s who’s stackin’ the most chips:

But here’s the twist: while Amazon’s *revenue* is monstrous, the *profitability* crown? That often goes to the *micro*-players in the list of e commerce businesses—like a $3M/year Shopify store selling ergonomic cat beds with orthopedic foam. Margins north of 60%. No board meetings. Just happy pets and happier owners. Big ain’t always *better*.

Ask Google *“What is the most popular e-commerce company?”* and it’ll scream *“AMAZON!”* like a reflex. And yeah—by traffic, GMV, and sheer cultural osmosis? Undeniable. But ask *“What is the most profitable ecommerce business?”* and the answer shifts: niched-down, high-margin, low-churn DTC brands dominate. Think:

• 💎 **Gymshark** (fitness apparel) — 72% gross margin
• 🦷 **Burst Oral Care** (electric toothbrushes) — $100M+ revenue, bootstrapped
• 🐾 **The Farmer’s Dog** (fresh pet food) — $500M ARR, LTV:CAC of 5.3x

These aren’t on everyone’s radar—but they’re printing money *quietly*. The list of e commerce businesses includes both the stadium-rock bands *and* the indie folk duo playin’ to 200 devoted fans every night. Both matter. Both thrive.

Most folks see the shiny storefront—but the *engine* is where the gold hides:

• 🤖 **Dynamic bundling** — “Frequently bought together” isn’t guesswork; it’s collaborative filtering trained on *millions* of carts
• 📦 **Predictive restocking** — Walmart’s AI forecasts flu outbreaks *before* CDC reports peak—so tissues, soup, and gummy vitamins are pre-stocked
• 🧠 **Cart abandonment scripts** — 45% of recoveries happen via SMS (not email!), sent *within 9 minutes* of exit (SaleCycle, 2025)

Every list of e commerce businesses that lasts past year two has mastered *behavioral choreography*—they don’t push products; they *escort* you, politely, from curiosity to commitment. With snacks.

Google asks *“What are 6 types of e-commerce?”*—so let’s serve the full spread, Southern-style:

1. B2C (Business-to-Consumer) — Amazon, Target, Glossier. You know this one.
2. B2B (Business-to-Business) — Faire, Alibaba.com, Thomasnet. Where cafes buy espresso machines and factories order gaskets.
3. C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) — eBay, Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace. Your neighbor’s kayak + your kid’s outgrown cleats = capitalism in action.
4. C2B (Consumer-to-Business) — Upwork, Fiverr, Shutterstock. You sell *your skills*—not stuff.
5. D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) — Warby Parker, Allbirds, Liquid IV. Cut the middleman, keep the margin, own the data.
6. B2G (Business-to-Government) — GovDeals, BidNet. Less glamorous—but *wildly* stable. (Yes, someone’s selling $2.3M worth of lab centrifuges to the NIH every quarter.)

The modern list of e commerce businesses spans *all six*—often in hybrid form. A Shopify store might be D2C by day, B2B by night (wholesale portal), and C2C via a “Resale Hub” for used gear. Flexibility = survival.

While Amazon’s hoggin’ headlines, these stealth operators are buildin’ empires in plain sight:

• ThredUp** — $228M revenue (2024), the *largest online thrift store* in the US. They grade 1.2M garments/day like sommeliers.
• Chewy** — $11.8B in pet supplies, with *handwritten condolence cards* for deceased pets. (Yes. We cried too.)
• Faire** — $3.1B GMV, powers 650K+ boutiques. Their *net-60 terms* let small shops stock inventory *before* they’ve sold a thing.

They ain’t household names like Nike—but to their customers? They’re *family*. And that’s how you build a business that lasts: not with virality, but with *veneration*.