Online retailers are capturing a larger and larger proportion of consumer dollars, accounting for 10.2 percent of all retail sales in the first quarter of 2019. Many people enjoy the convenience of shopping from home and having purchases delivered to their door.
Retailers who sell only or predominantly online—and are referred to as e-commerce companies or e-tailers—may choose to go public once they’ve gotten big enough and successful enough to draw the attention of Wall Street. Selling shares in an initial public offering (IPO) raises money for a company to expand its business, and the stock can be used to fund acquisitions of smaller companies and reward executives for strong performance.
Although online-only retailers must still have some physical locations for distribution centers and corporate offices, they have none of the costs associated with physical stores, including rent, security, and shoplifting.
Here is a list of U.S.-based, publicly-traded e-tailers that make all or the majority of their revenue from online sales, their stock symbol, and a brief description of their business. The list excludes companies that generate most of their sales from stores or that are based outside the U.S. even if their shares are traded on a U.S. exchange.
