Amazon is the biggest, but not always the best, in online retail:

Amazon’s dominance in on-line retail is clear: The so-called Everything Store captures 49 percent of retail e-commerce sales in the U.S., thanks in large partto its 95 million-strong army of Prime customers, who in July contributed to an estimated $4 billion spent globally in just 36 hours during a promotional binge that Jeff Bezos created out of thin air. For comparison, that’s more than Church & Dwight, maker of Arm & Hammer baking soda and Trojan condoms, generates in a year.

So Amazon’s the biggest shopping site in the U.S. But is it the best? And how does one measure that, anyway? And how does one measure that, anyway? A common way is to look at how much of a retailer’s total revenue comes from its online division. By that metric- simply, who does the biggest share of their business online- Amazon is worlds ahead of most rivals.

Discussions about online sales usually devolve into comparing deals. But it’s not just about who has the lowest prices-most sites these days employ algorithms (data mining) that can quickly match competitors’ price tags, so they’re changing constantly.

In truth, what matters most to web retailers are three things: Traffic, engagement and conversion. In other words, how many people many people visit your online storefront, how interested they are in what they see and how many of them click the all-important “buy” button.

“Amazon is the king of online retail, not because of the prices or shopping experience, but because it turns browsers into buyers.”