When it comes to the fastest-growing online retailers in North America, not all merchandise categories have seen the same fortunes over the past year.
As was the case with the retailers benefiting most from artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled sales in 2025, ecommerce sales growth overall looked very different, depending on which types of products merchants carried. The leading growth categories for 2026, as highlighted in the new 2026 edition of Digital Commerce 360’s State of American Ecommerce Report, illuminate which U.S.-based online retailers are getting ahead in an unpredictable economic environment.
On one level, the top-performing Mass Merchant category saw web sales increase by 14.4% year over year in 2025. That underscores a story of the retail giants Amazon and Walmart only increasing market share across the broad range of products they sell. However, moving down the list, there is a lot more going on.
What are the fast-growing merchandise categories for online retailers?
As a merchandise category, Mass Merchants — which include Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco — saw the highest rate of online sales growth year over year. In fact, Amazon’s online sales volume alone in 2025 was greater than the combined totals of the next 52 largest U.S.-based online retailers by annual web sales, based on data tracked by Digital Commerce 360 in the Top 2000 Database.
Amazon accounted for 40% of all ecommerce sales among the Top 2000 during the past year. In the meantime, these four largest Mass Merchants were responsible for 59% of all U.S.-based ecommerce sales in the Top 2000 in 2025. That share increased from 49% in 2020.
At the same time, the next-fastest-growing merchandise category, based on 2025 results, is one where each of these Mass Merchants has invested heavily: Food & Beverage, where online sales grew by 13.0% year over year.
Not counting the Mass Merchants who sell groceries online, Food & Beverage’s largest representatives in the Top 2000 were Kroger and Albertsons. Those two grocers nearly merged before regulators blocked their deal in 2024. Nevertheless, their category was responsible for $41.58 billion in online sales in 2025.
It’s a category that continues to benefit as U.S. online grocery sales rose by 23% during the year, according to the firm Brick Meets Click.
Online sales growth for Health & Beauty
Behind Food & Beverage, Health & Beauty also achieved a double-digit growth rate, boosting sales by 11% year over year. Thanks to top online retailers in Health & Beauty, such as Walgreens Boots Alliance and Hims & Hers, these merchants took advantage of trends in online health care, social video and consumer interest in wellness products, to hit $43.55 billion in 2025 ecommerce sales.
All the while, other merchandise categories plateaued or declined. Among them, Flowers & Gifts, Office Supplies, Jewelry and Automotive Parts & Accessories saw the steepest declines, with consumer behavior, tariffs and other factors weighing on results.
Editor’s note: Download the full 2026 State of American Ecommerce Report to see more category-level data and rankings. Subscribe to our retail newsletter to make sure you see each weekly edition of Ecommerce Trends.
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