Here's an assessment of how Walmart was doing against Amazon -- from the year 2000:
... the case for Amazon getting crushed by Wal-Mart doesn't stand up when you do some side-by-side comparing of their Web sites. What's wrong with Walmart.com? Put simply, it settles for taking orders for the products people come looking for rather than enticing them to buy things they hadn't even thought of buying.
Amazon sells more than the next 10 biggest websites, combined.
It's useful to note that those 10 biggest websites are operated by large retailers with a physical presence, so it doesn't necessarily mean they're in trouble (walmart, macy's, home depot, etc.)
But the gap between Amazon and the next biggest e-tail site is huge. It's more of a canyon than a gap, really.
... the case for Amazon getting crushed by Wal-Mart doesn't stand up when you do some side-by-side comparing of their Web sites. What's wrong with Walmart.com? Put simply, it settles for taking orders for the products people come looking for rather than enticing them to buy things they hadn't even thought of buying.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2000-12-17/walmart-do...
It's 16 years later and Walmart still hasn't been able to compete with Amazon very effectively.