You’ve invested time and money into creating a beautiful Shopify, Wordpress or Wix online store. The branding is on point, your product pages are polished, and the checkout is seamless. But despite all that, many of your customers still choose to buy from Amazon, Fnac, Walmart, or other big-name retailers.

It’s not that your website is bad. It’s that shoppers have developed habits and preferences shaped by years of convenience, trust, and perceived value from these platforms. Understanding those reasons is the first step toward adapting your strategy and meeting buyers where they already choose to shop.

Retailers offer trust and familiarity

Big retailers have spent decades building reputations that reassure shoppers. Consumers know these names, have bought from them before, and trust them to deliver on promises.

When a customer shops on Amazon or Walmart, they’re not just buying a product but they’re buying into a proven system. They know their payment details are secure, they can track their order from dispatch to delivery. And if something goes wrong, customer service is easy to reach.

That trust removes friction. On a brand’s own website, even if the store is perfectly legitimate, a new customer might hesitate before entering credit card details or committing to a purchase. On a retailer’s platform, that hesitation is often replaced by confidence.

Convenience wins the battle

Retailers make the buying process effortless. Shoppers can find what they need, add it to their cart, and check out in seconds. Many already have accounts with saved payment details and shipping addresses, removing the need to re-enter information.

It’s not just about speed. It’s also about reducing effort. A single retailer can cover multiple needs in one order, from groceries to electronics, making it more efficient than visiting multiple brand websites. On top of that, mobile apps from platforms like Amazon or Walmart make purchases possible with just a couple of taps.

Shipping speed and perks

Fast delivery has become the new standard, and retailers have set the bar high. Amazon Prime, Walmart+, and similar memberships offer next-day or even same-day delivery for millions of products.

For many shoppers, that speed isn’t just a nice bonus but it’s a deciding factor. Pair that with perks like free shipping, easy returns, and guaranteed delivery dates. It’s then easy to see why customers often choose retailers over individual brand stores (which may take longer to ship or charge extra fees.)

Price perception and deals

Many shoppers believe they’ll get a better price on a retailer’s platform, even if that’s not always true. Big marketplaces fuel this perception with regular discounts, flash sales, and bundle offers. Seasonal events like Amazon Prime Day or Walmart’s Rollbacks create urgency and encourage bulk buying.

Retailers also make price comparison easy. Seeing multiple brands and sellers side-by-side pushes customers toward deals that look the most attractive. Which often means your product is competing directly with cheaper alternatives in the same search results.

The power of reviews and social proof

Retailers thrive on social proof. With thousands of verified reviews, shoppers can quickly assess whether a product lives up to its promises. This peer validation often carries more weight than anything a brand might say in its own marketing.

High ratings, detailed customer photos, and visible Q&A sections all help buyers feel more confident about their purchase. On a brand’s site, reviews may be fewer in number or perceived as less trustworthy while on a major retailer’s page, the sheer volume of feedback reassures hesitant customers.

What this means for brands

You can’t fight where customers want to shop. But you can adapt your strategy to make the most of it. Instead of trying to force every sale through your own website, think about how to work with retailer platforms. That could mean optimizing your product pages on marketplaces, ensuring your listings are rich with reviews, or running targeted ads that direct traffic to the places where shoppers already feel comfortable buying.

By meeting customers where they are, you’re not just making sales. You’re building relationships and increasing brand visibility in environments they already trust.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, retailers win customer loyalty through a mix of trust, convenience, speed, price perception, and social proof. For many shoppers, these benefits outweigh the idea of buying directly from a brand.

Rather than seeing this as a loss, brands can see it as an opportunity. Embrace the way people prefer to shop and find ways to stay present across retailer platforms. By doing so, you increase your reach and capture more sales from customers who might never have bought from your website in the first place.