• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, September 19, 2025

Apps win loyalty, marketplaces dominate, and specialty brands win consumer choices, according to data released earlier this week.

Similarweb released its Global State of Ecommerce 2025 report demonstrating how consumer habits are changing from websites to apps as part of their daily habits. The findings highlight how digital commerce is consolidating around apps and marketplaces, leaving retailers and brands to adapt or risk falling behind. 

While traffic to shopping websites declined 1% year-over-year, ecommerce app sessions jumped 13%. The study also found that marketplaces like Amazon and Temu consolidated share, while certain categories like beauty and luxury outperformed.

Digital commerce has evolved, with marketplaces now established as a third major player alongside traditional websites and apps. The report indicates a shift in consumer behavior, as unique visitors to marketplace websites increased by 4.7% year-over-year, while overall visits grew by only 1%.

More people are showing up, but they are making fewer repeat visits and browsing less. One reason could be new search tools, recommendation engines, and pre-purchase research that help shoppers decide before they click.

App sessions jumped 5.3%, outpacing visitor growth and web visits. Marketplaces may reach more people on the web, but the app has become the driver of engagement. App users are more active, loyal, and invested. That makes the app the core channel for building deeper shopper relationships, driving repeat purchases, and increasing performance.

Established marketplaces have begun to plateau. Web growth is flat or declining, and app adoption is slowing as these players rely on large but static loyal audiences.

While Amazon still commands unmatched scale, its growth has leveled off as it leans more on loyalty and retention. Newcomers like Temu stand out with double-digit growth in both web and app traffic, powered by aggressive pricing, a vast assortment of products, and a mobile-first strategy that resonates with younger, value-conscious shoppers. The contrast shows a market in transition.

Similarweb segmented the study into markets. It estimates the next phase of ecommerce will be shaped as much by global headwinds as by innovation. In the months ahead, ecommerce will be defined by global pressures, shifting consumer habits, and technological disruption.

Traffic patterns across websites and apps have largely stabilized and new forces like economics and generative AI (GAI) are reshaping growth.

GAI is rewriting the rules, with referrals from AI platforms showing higher conversion rates than traditional channels. Ecommerce has become more competitive, technologically advanced, and dependent on consumer trust and loyalty than before.

The next wave of growth, loyalty, and lifetime value will be won inside apps. Retailers that prioritize their app experience will be best placed to capture repeat purchases and strengthen long-term customer relationships, according to Similarweb.

Mobile apps, while smaller in scale, are steadily expanding and deliver higher engagement. They have become the channel where loyalty, repeat purchasing, and lifetime value are built.

Walmart’s digital footprint illustrates this shift. Its web audience remains larger -- with more than 150 million monthly visitors -- but growth is flat.

In contrast, its app user base is smaller yet steadily expanding, and far more engaged. Walmart app users return more than 22 times per month and spend nearly three times longer per session than web visitors.