In the landscape of ecommerce businesses, one market towers over all others - the United States of America. The nation played a pioneering role in the inception and growth of ecommerce and continues to drive innovation and set trends that influence ecommerce markets worldwide.
As of 2024, Over 13 million of the 26.2 million ecommerce sites in the world are in the United States. 270.11 million people shop online in the United States. That’s about 81% of the entire population!
New and emerging ecommerce businesses have tremendous growth opportunities in this rapidly evolving market. In this article, we’ll provide valuable insights into trending ecommerce ideas, offering a roadmap for launching a successful online business.
Are ecommerce businesses disrupting high-street retail?
While retail stores offer instant gratification and personal service, no brick-and-mortar store can stock as many products as Amazon. The growth of online shopping has led to many analysts predicting the death of high-street retail.
Nordstrom closed both of its stores in downtown San Francisco in May 2023. Jamie Nordstrom, Nordstrom's chief stores officer, wrote, "The dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”
Chicago's Magnificent Mile, a stretch of high-end shops and restaurants, had a 26% vacancy rate in spring 2023. Commercial realtors from the area have observed that though most vacancies occurred during the pandemic, large stores were struggling to compete with online shopping even before the pandemic.
What does this mean for traditional retail? Brick-and-mortar retail stores must recognize the increasing importance of online sales and adapt to digital transformation to compete with ecommerce businesses.
With this in mind, let's look at different types of digital and ecommerce businesses, online business ideas and emerging ecommerce trends you can leverage to buy or start an ecommerce business.
Trending ecommerce business ideas in the US 2024
Print on Demand
Print-on-demand is an ecommerce business model where designs are digitally printed on demand on products like apparel, merchandise, accessories, home decor, etc. It's a great online business idea if you do not want to stock inventory.
To get started, you need to:
- Set up an ecommerce store or create an online store on marketplaces like Etsy or Amazon.
- Connect your online store to a print-on-demand provider like Printify, Gelato, etc. These PoD services offer a wide range of products that can be customised.
- Create custom designs, add them to products of your choice and list them online.
Once you have a sale, the entire order fulfilment, from printing to shipping, is handled by the PoD service.
Dropshipping business
Dropshipping is an ecommerce business model where the seller is not required to stock inventory. Your dropship supplier stocks your products and ships them when you get an order.
The benefits of dropshipping as an ecommerce business idea are low start-up costs, easy scalability and the freedom to test new products without risk.
Books, coffee and home decor are some of the most popular products to dropship.
Apps
With over 6.3 billion smartphone users globally, it is no surprise that the mobile app market is booming! Mobile apps are expected to generate over $935 billion in revenue in 2024. There is an app for almost everything and every industry today.
If you want to start an online business, you could consider buying a pre-built app in a niche you are passionate about. App developers sell their apps for several reasons, the most common being project fatigue and the desire to innovate.
Once you buy an app, you can invest in marketing it and eventually build the user base and a steady revenue stream by offering in-app purchases, premium features, or a freemium version.
Amazon FBA Store
Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) is an all-in-one ecommerce business solution offered by Amazon. As a seller, you only need to ship your products to Amazon Fulfilment Centers. They will store, pack, ship, and deliver your product when a customer finalises an order on your Amazon store.
The benefits of an FBA ecommerce business model are:
- Fast and low-cost shipping
- No stress about renting a warehouse or storage space
- Excellent customer service offered by Amazon
- The Amazon team expertly manages returns and refunds
Amazon FBM Store
Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM), as the name suggests, is an order fulfilment method where you, the merchant, are responsible for stocking inventory and shipping the orders, either yourself or by partnering with a third-party logistics provider.
If you are a new merchant selling on Amazon, FBM will probably be the only method available, as FBA approvals take time.
Amazon KDP
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon's ebook publishing platform. This is a great online business idea for passionate and budding writers. If you love to write, you can self-publish your ebooks on Amazon for free. Kindle readers can download your ebook, or Amazon also offers a print-on-demand service where they print a paperback and ship it to your customer.
BigCommerce Store
Founded in 2009, BigCommerce has become the first choice of many top retailers like Superdry Australia, Skullcandy, La Perla and more. While this fully hosted ecommerce platform is preferred by major brands, they also offer solutions aimed at smaller ecommerce businesses, providing flexibility, scalability and security at affordable price plans.
Shopify Store
Shopify completely changed the ecommerce game and made it accessible for anyone to start an ecommerce business. Shopify's ecommerce platform, featuring a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, is one of the most convenient platforms for creating a store and launching an online business.
Popular American brands like Allbirds and Fashion Nova have harnessed Shopify's capabilities to scale their businesses.
SaaS Platform
Purchasing an existing SaaS platform allows you to skip the start-up hiccups and procure a business in its growth stage with an established customer base, brand value and revenue stream.
Still undecided? Here are some SaaS businesses for sale on our platform.
Content Websites
A content website is a site that is a library of content built around a particular topic, sometimes referred to as a blog, niche site or an authority website. The goal of a content website is to create high-value content that attracts tons of traffic and then monetise that traffic.
Michael Arrington started his blog TechCrunch in 2025 in the technology and gadget niche. He created high-value content and within 5 years, sold his website for an astounding price of $30 million to AOL.
Conclusion
Driven by rapid changes in technology and globalisation, the ecommerce industry is poised for robust growth. Predicted to achieve an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 9.36%, with user penetration expected to reach 84.4% by 2029, the opportunities are substantial.
These compelling statistics make 2024 an ideal time to start or buy an ecommerce business. If you’re interested in the latter, read our Guide to Buying an Online Business for more detailed information.
Ecommerce FAQs
Which are the top ecommerce companies in the world?
Amazon, with a revenue of $574.785 billion in 2023, is by far the largest ecommerce company in the world. Walmart, Home Depot and Ali Baba are some of the top ecommerce businesses globally.
Which is the most popular ecommerce business in the United States?
Amazon, eBay, BestBuy and Walmart are the top ecommerce websites in the United States.
What is the best ecommerce business to start in 2024?
Electronics, fashion and apparel, and food are the top three ecommerce product categories in the world. Healthcare and beauty products are a popular ecommerce category expected to perform well in 2024. If you want to start an ecommerce business, there is a huge growth potential in any of these categories.