Amazon's market share has been downgraded; could be good news for Jeff Bezos

A new estimate of Amazon's market share reveals that the tech giant is not as dominant as we thought.

Amazon is the second largest company in America with a market capitalization of $ 921 billion. This week, she has been designated as the most valuable brand on the planet.

But its estimated share in online sales in the United States has been drastically reduced by eMarketer, which is often cited as a reliable source for Amazon's market share.

The search firm has reduced its percentage of online retail sales in 2019 from 47 percent to 37.7 percent in the United States, The Information reported Thursday.

eMarketer told Business Insider that it revalued its estimates after CEO Jeff Bezos announced in his April annual letter to shareholders that sales by third-party sellers now account for more than 58 percent of physical gross sales sold on Amazon. These sales increased from $ 0.1 billion in 1999 to $ 160 billion in 2018.

"Third-party sellers are kicking our first party," said Bezos.

An eMarketer spokesperson told Business Insider that, thanks to this new information, he had been able to update "a key element" of his ecommerce sales model for Amazon. This had the effect of reducing his previous estimates of Amazon's sales and market share, he said.

Read more: The FTC asks Amazon's competitors if they are crushed by Jeff Bezos's company

The revised estimate of market share could actually be good news for Bezos, which is trying to downplay its size at a time when potential anti-trust technology investigations are preparing.

Earlier this month, the Washington Post announced that the FTC and the Department of Justice had put the blame for any antitrust investigation involving Amazon and Google. Under this new agreement, the FTC is monitoring Amazon.

"There is something going on in terms of monopoly," US President Donald Trump said Monday, citing possible investigations of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. "We will examine it," he added.

The main concern of both regulators is the fact that Amazon is so dominant that it is impossible for others to compete. If its market share is considered less dominant than previously thought, it should work in its favor.