The US retail sector could take years to recover from the impact of the coronavirus, and the hit could be worse than that of the Great Recession. According to eMarketer’s latest forecast on US retail sales (which includes auto and fuel), total retail sales will drop by 10.5% this year, steeper than the 8.2% drop in 2009. Ecommerce is the only bright spot, jumping 18.0% this year, as Americans rely on Amazon and other online retailers for necessities.

This report provides an overview of the top 10 US ecommerce companies in our 2020 forecast, including analysis of growth trends for Amazon, Walmart and Target.

Just 16% of the 250 retailers in Sailthru’s annual Retail Personalization Index said they use customers’ digital data to personalize their in-store experience, mostly through mobile devices. And that number is 100% among the top 10 retailers.

Heading into the fiercely competitive holiday shopping season, Walmart is poised to capture an even larger portion of this year’s online retail sales, according to eMarketer's latest retail forecast.

Singles’ Day is the world’s biggest shopping event, and Black Friday is just around the corner. Holiday shopping is a major driver of retail and ecommerce around the world, but spending and which holidays drive the most activity vary by region.

A positive US macroeconomic backdrop points to strong growth across every retail channel, but retailers should pay attention to seven key trends that will determine their ultimate success for the 2018 holiday season.

For the 2018 holiday season, eMarketer expects total US retail sales to grow 4.1% to $986.8 billion, with ecommerce jumping 16.2% to $123.4 billion.

Amazon will claim nearly half of US retail ecommerce sales in 2018. Sales will be driven by Amazon’s marketplace, which will account for 68.0% of business.

The latest round of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration could come as soon as this week. The retail industry might not feel the full impact of these measures until 2019, but additional fees on goods from China will undoubtedly affect US trade, especially if China follows through with threats of retaliating tariffs.

Both companies announced shrinking brand portfolios this week, but the factors that necessitated these closures weren't exactly the same. Sears Holdings has been struggling for some time, while Lowe's continues to lag behind The Home Depot.