• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 4, 2013

STORES Magazine has released its annual rankings of online retailers, with Amazon coming up No. 1 in both its industry-insider ranking, as well as a consumer-preference survey.

The insider survey, conducted by the NRF’s shop.org division, simply asked execs which online store they admired most. And while the five winners ranged from immense (Amazon) and well known (Sephora) to obscure (Modcloth.com, OneKingsLane.com, and Poppin.com.), the magazine reports they share many traits, including “innovation, social responsibility, customer-centric culture, quality of products and service, supply chain efficiency, the ability to capture and retain customers and financial soundness.”

The five winners also represent innovations in terms of new loyalty and payment processes, as well as social media use and artful combinations of content and commerce.

While insiders might admire niche retailers more, consumer preferences are clearly shaped by their local malls. After Amazon and eBay, which came in at No. 3, the remaining Top 10 winners are all better known for bricks than clicks: Walmart, Kohl's, Best Buy, Target, JCPenney, Macy's, Sears and Old Navy. 

The ranking, done by Prosper Insights and Analytics and based on responses from more than 5,600 adults, is based on two open-ended questions: “What website do you shop most often for apparel items?” and “What website do you shop most often for non-apparel items?” 

Two new stores made the top 50: Belk.com, which debuts at No. 39, and teen retailer Hottopic.com, which came in at No. 43. 

In the second quarter, Americans spent $49.8 billion on desktop e-commerce purchases, according to comScore. That's a 16% year-over-year gain, the fifteenth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth, and also the 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

E-commerce accounted for 9.6% of discretionary spending, which comScore says is the second-highest share for the second quarter on record. The best-selling categories were apparel and accessories, digital content and subscriptions, sport and fitness, consumer packaged goods, and home and garden. Each of those categories increased by at least 19% compared to year-earlier spending.