Growth just isn’t enough.
For the global e-commerce giants to keep their shareholders happy and their competitors scrambling, they need supercharged growth. And that means getting out their wallets and spending, sometimes very big, to break into new markets and pick up new skills.
Walmart Inc.’s $16 billion deal for control of Flipkart is just the latest in a series of oftentimes aggressive moves from the world’s largest consumer players. Here are 20 deals over the past decade that show how Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba and JD.com are trying to get ahead.
| Buyer | Target | Announcement Date | Size (in millions) | Expertise |
| Walmart | Flipkart | May 9 | $16,000 | Indian e-commerce |
| Alibaba | Daraz Group | May 8 | n/a | South Asian e-commerce |
| Amazon | Ring Inc. | Feb. 27 | $993 | Video doorbells |
| JD.com | Pomelo Fashion Co. (minority stake) | Nov. 1, 2017 | n/a | Fashion e-commerce, Thailand |
| Amazon | Body Labs Inc. | Oct. 4, 2017 | n/a | Fit Technology |
| JD.com | Farfetch (minority stake) | June 22, 2017 | $397 | Fashion e-commerce |
| Walmart | Bonobos | June 16, 2017 | $310 | Men’s fashion e-commerce |
| Amazon | Whole Foods | June 16, 2017 | $13,200 | Retail, grocery |
| Amazon | Souq.com | March 28, 2017 | $583 | Middle Eastern e-commerce |
| Walmart | Jet | Aug. 8, 2016 | $3,300 | E-commerce |
| JD.com | Niuhai E-commerce | June 20, 2016 | $2,918 | Chinese e-commerce |
| Alibaba | Lazada | April 12, 2016 | $2,000 | Southeast Asian e-commerce |
| Amazon | Shoefitr | April 10, 2015 | n/a | Shoe fit technology |
| Alibaba | Intime | March 30, 2014 | $693 | Chinese retail |
| Amazon | Kiva Systems | March 19, 2012 | $775 | Robotics, fulfillment |
| JD.com | Minitiao.com | Jan. 10, 2012 | n/a | Fashion e-commerce, China |
| Walmart | Kosmix | April 18, 2011 | $300 | Technology development |
| Amazon | BuyVIP | Oct. 5, 2010 | $97 | Spanish fashion e-commerce |
| JD.com | Qianxun.com | March 23, 2010 | n/a | Chinese fashion e-commerce |
| Amazon | Zappos | July 22, 2009 | $895 | Footwear e-commerce |
Source: S&P Capital IQ; Company reports