Back in the early 2000s, there were just a few major players in the online shopping world—Amazon, eBay, and a handful of others.
Fast forward to 2024, and the number of online shopping websites is through the roof!
Here’s what that means for you: more options, better deals, and endless variety—but also a lot more time trying to figure out where to shop. But don’t worry, we did the homework so you don’t have to.
We’ve handpicked the top 20 shopping sites that are worth your time, each with unique product offerings, price ranges, and customer experiences.
Let’s see who made the cut.
The Best Online Shopping Sites of 2024
1. Whop: Best for digital products and services
Let’s kick this list off with Whop.
Whop has an online marketplace for learning new skills and connecting with like-minded people, in areas like health and fitness, business, ecommerce, and social media.
When you buy a digital product, or “whop,” it can include things like courses, downloads, live events, and community access. Each whop provides key details like what’s included, reviews, FAQs, and seller info to help you decide if it’s right for you.
You can also purchase multiple whops and access them all in one place, so it’s easy to switch between them whenever you need.
2. Amazon: Best for everyday shopping
From its humble beginnings as a bookstore in 1994, Amazon has grown into a global ecommerce giant.
It’s become a one-stop shop for just about everything you need for your home and office—books, clothes, electronics, toys, personal care items, baby products, pet supplies, and more. Plus, it offers international shipping to over 100 countries.
Amazon shoppers love its fast and reliable shipping. Local deliveries take about five to seven days. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime members (paying $14.99/month or $139/year) get free and faster shipping on qualifying orders.
3. eBay: Best for vintage auctions
eBay initially launched as AuctionWeb in 1995. The goal was to connect buyers and sellers through a bidding system for second-hand goods.
Similar to Amazon, it has grown into a massive marketplace for clothing, electronics, beauty products, and more. However, eBay stands out for offering both new and used goods, especially rare vintage items.
And when it comes to buying, you’ve got three options: “Buy Now” for getting items at a fixed price, “Best Offer” for negotiating lower prices, and “Auction” for getting an item if you were the highest bidder at the end of the auction.
4. Craigslist: Best for local buyers
Craigslist is a classified ads website that traces its roots back to 1995. It focuses on connecting local sellers and buyers through classified ads, rather than handling payments and shipping like typical ecommerce sites.
As a buyer, you get to browse ads by location and category, with everything from second-hand goods to apartments, services, and jobs. If you’re interested in a product, reach out to the seller. And if they’re good, meet in person to complete the transaction, mostly with cash in hand.
Craigslist is especially popular in the USA, but if you’re outside the country, a good alternative for local buying and selling is Facebook Marketplace.
5. Etsy: Best for handmade products
Etsy is the go-to site for handmade jewelry, clothing accessories, and home decor. It’s perfect for picking out unique personal items or gifts for friends and family.
Some sellers let you customize products with a name, photo, or graphic for that personal touch. And if you’re shopping for a specific event, Etsy’s “Gift Mode” page makes it easy to find gifts for every occasion—Birthdays, Anniversaries, Christmas, and more.
Besides these unique items, Etsy shoppers love supporting the small businesses on the platform and Etsy’s commitment to offsetting carbon emissions from shipping.
6. Asos: Best for trendy men and women’s fashion
Asos is a UK-based ecommerce brand focused on men’s and women’s fashion. The platform is home to its own fashion brand, along with 850 more including Adidas, Nike, Vans, and TopShop.
It’s mostly popular among millennials and Gen Z shoppers who love trendy clothing, shoes, and accessories. And thanks to its broad price range, it’s a perfect fit for all budgets.
Asos ships worldwide, with standard deliveries arriving within a week. It also provides express and next-day deliveries to most European countries and some parts of the USA.
7. Nordstrom: Best for luxury fashion
Nordstrom is a luxury fashion retailer that operates online and offline. It offers clothing, shoes, and accessories from top brands like Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Balenciaga, and Louboutin.
You’ll find outfits for men, women, and kids here, with options for every occasion—bridal, casual, date night, work, and vacation. While these are great, Nordstrom sets itself apart with top-notch customer service.
You can get personal styling, alteration, and shipping services for free. And as long as you have a valid case, you can return clothing items for free at any time, even after you’ve worn it!
8. Sephora: Best for luxury beauty
Sephora is your go-to destination for luxury skincare, makeup, and perfume. It features 300+ brands including its own Sephora Collection and others like Fenty Beauty, Huda Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Dior, and Estée Lauder.
Whether you’re shopping in-store or online, Sephora offers an excellent customer experience. The in-store reps are patient, ready to offer advice, and generous with samples.
And when you shop online, your products arrive within 3 business days. You can also opt for same-day delivery or pick up your order in-store. And if you join their free loyalty program, Beauty Insider, you’ll get free standard shipping with no minimum order requirement.
9. Wayfair: Best for household goods
Wayfair specializes in household items, offering everything from furniture and lighting to home decor and electronic appliances.
With over 14 million products available, you’re sure to find items that match your style and budget. And since the Wayfair website lets you shop by room—bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, home office, and more—you can find the exact item you need in no time.
Wayfair also provides flexible delivery options based on your needs. This ranges from curbside drop-off to full in-home service, where the team moves the product to a specific space in your home, unpacks, assembles, and clears the trash.
10. Best Buy: Best for tech gadgets
Best Buy is the perfect place to hunt for your next tech gadget or electronic appliance. This includes computers, smartphones, cameras, game consoles, microwaves, you name it.
The weekly deals offer low prices on products for up to 24 hours or until they’re sold out. You can also request for price matching. This means if you find a lower price for a product on competitor sites like Amazon, Target, or Walmart, Best Buy will match it.
After making your purchase, you can opt for store pickup, same-day delivery, or scheduled delivery with installation. And if you experience any issue with your purchase, locate a nearby store to return or exchange it.
11. Newegg: Best for computer parts
Newegg launched in 2001 and ever since, it has focused on selling electronics and computer parts. This includes everything from televisions and microwaves to motherboards, CPUs, and hard drives.
In 2011, Newegg launched a marketplace for third-party sellers, allowing them to offer a wider range of products. So whether you’re building a PC from scratch or simply upgrading your setup, Newegg has everything you need.
Similar to Best Buy, Newegg ships primarily to US-based customers and offers multiple delivery options, frequent sales, and price matching on select products.
12. Chewy: Best for pet owners
Chewy is an online retailer that delivers affordable pet supplies straight to your doorstep.
While it primarily caters to cats and dogs, it also has products for horses, birds, rabbits, pigs, sheep, and more. These products include everything from pet food and toys to clothing, grooming products, and medications.
Chewy’s fast delivery (within 3 days), autoship option for recurring orders, free 365-day returns, and 24/7 customer support (via call, email, and chat) make pet shopping stress- and hassle-free. Oh, and if you place orders above $49, you get free shipping!
13. Alibaba: Best for wholesale purchases
Alibaba is a China-based global ecommerce platform that connects buyers with suppliers. It offers everything from electronics and clothing to machinery and raw materials.
It’s popular among business owners who are looking to source bulk products at factory prices. In fact, most businesses source their products from Alibaba and retail them on platforms like Amazon and Shopify.
Suppliers listed on Alibaba can customize products with specific features and brand labels, however, you’ll need to meet minimum order quantities (MOQs). Depending on the product, this typically ranges from 100 to 1000.
14. AliExpress: Best for affordable general goods
AliExpress is a sister company to Alibaba but works a little differently. Instead of selling to businesses, it sells directly to consumers.
So while it offers a wide range of goods and ships internationally like Alibaba, there’s no option to customize products. The upside? You can buy single items with no MOQ requirement—think of it like the China-based version of Amazon, just with lower prices on most goods.
However, delivery times on AliExpress are longer, and you may need to pay for shipping. And if you want to stick with free shipping, you can filter product results to only show items that fit this criteria.
15. SHEIN: Best for women’s clothing on a budget
SHEIN (formerly Sheinside) is a fast-fashion retailer that offers trendy clothing, shoes, and accessories.
It has casual wear, party outfits, and activewear for everyone—men, women, and kids, but it's best known for offering the most variety in women's fashion.
SHEIN is also known for its budget-friendly prices, with clothing starting at just $5 and accessories at $1. This low pricing means product quality can be a hit or miss, so you’ll have to heavily depend on customer reviews before making a purchase. And for purchases above $29, you get free shipping.
However, there is a lot of controversy surrounded the working conditions and treatment of Shein staff - be sure to do your own research.
16. Poshmark: Best for second-hand luxury fashion
Poshmark is a US-based marketplace for buying new and fairly-used clothing, accessories, and home goods. It’s mostly used by millennial women (and a few Gen Zs) looking for fashion deals.
You’ll find unique pieces from everyday brands and high-end labels like Zara, Nike, Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, and Victoria's Secret—all at discounted prices.
The platform feels more like a community than just another shopping site. You can follow sellers whose closet you love, like and comment on their product listings, and participate in virtual Posh Parties to buy items in real-time.
17. ThredUp: Best for second-hand casual clothing
ThredUp is an online consignment and thrift store that offers second-hand clothing, shoes, and accessories. Each item is thoroughly inspected by the ThredUp team to ensure it’s clean and in good condition before being listed for sale.
You’ll find men, women, kids, maternity, and plus-size clothing, for as low as $10. You can even get lower prices by filtering product results to only show those on sale.
ThredUp ships to the US and Canada, with free shipping available for US orders over $79. Otherwise, shipping costs a flat $5.99, and you can expect your items to arrive within three to eight business days.
18. EarthHero: Best for a wide range of sustainable products
EarthHero is an online retailer that makes sustainable shopping easy. They offer everything from home goods and personal care items to baby and pet supplies—think of it as the Amazon for eco-friendly products.
They achieve this by partnering with brands that meet at least one of their five sustainability pillars: Materials and ingredients, Company responsibility, Ownership and representation, Packaging and end of life, and Give back programs.
You can filter products based on these pillars to find items that match your values. EarthHero also ships plastic-free and offsets all shipping emissions. They only ship within the US and orders over $75 qualify for free shipping.
19. ThriveMarket: Best for organic groceries
Thrive Market is a membership-based online retailer that offers over 5,000 organic foods, drinks, seafood, meat and poultry, and supplements. All products meet Thrive Market's strict standards, so they’re free from GMOs and 1,000+ prohibited ingredients.
You pay $12/month (or $60/year) to shop on the platform. This membership also comes with perks like exclusive discounts, free gifts on qualifying purchases, price matching, and autoship for recurring deliveries. And if you don’t save the cost of your membership by the end of the year, Thrive Market will credit the difference to your account for future purchases.
Besides organic groceries, Thrive Market supports sustainability. They use carbon-neutral shipping, operate zero-waste warehouses, and package everything in recyclable materials.
20. Credo Beauty: Best for clean beauty products
Credo Beauty is an online and offline beauty retailer focused on clean skincare, makeup, and perfumes—aka the Sephora of clean beauty.
While there isn’t an official standard for clean beauty, Credo Beauty created its own. Products are free from the 2,700+ ingredients on their “dirty list”, stick to sustainable sourcing and packaging practices, and ensure fair treatment of people and animals throughout the supply chain.
Credo Beauty only ships within the US and offers free shipping for orders over $50. They also offer a 30-day return policy for unused and gently used products with a full refund.
What Makes an Ecommerce Site Stand Out?
Online shopping can be a bit tricky, especially if you’re still new to the experience. Issues like late deliveries and poor product quality can make the experience frustrating.
But you can reduce the chances of these happening to improve your overall shopping experience. So before you place an order, here’s what to look out for:
Product quality
Don’t rely solely on product photos when making a decision. Use the filters on the shopping website to ensure the product meets your quality criteria.
For example, on eBay, you can filter by new or used items, and on Newegg, you might filter by “Sold and shipped by Newegg”.
You should also read the product’s descriptions carefully. Depending on your preferences, check for important details like material, dimensions, features, and functionality.
Shipping costs and delivery times
Shipping costs and delivery times matter, especially if you're on a budget or need something by a specific date.
So, always check the shipping fees for your location and estimated delivery times upfront to avoid any surprises. A big bonus is when the shopping site provides tracking information to keep you updated on your order’s progress.
Besides delivery times, look out for available delivery options. For large items, you might need in-house delivery and assembly services to save you time and hassle.
Secure payments
The top shopping sites on this list have built a strong reputation over time. This usually means they have secure payment systems that keep customers coming back. Still, it never hurts to double-check.
For newer sites, it’s even more important to ensure you’re comfortable with their payment methods. And more importantly, look out for SSL encryption on their website (the “https” in the URL) to keep your personal details and transactions safe.
Return and refund policy
A good shopping site will make it easy for you to return items if they don’t meet your expectations or something goes wrong. They should have clear steps to follow and a reasonable time window to send items back. For example, Nordstrom provides clear instructions on how to return items in-store or via email.
You should also check if they offer free returns and full refunds. Having these details upfront will save you lots of time and headaches if things don’t go as planned.
Customer service
Check if an ecommerce site has responsive and helpful customer support. You might also want to look out for multiple contact options—live chat, email, or phone—and availability, so you know when to reach out when you have questions or face product or order issues.
Some support teams are only reachable on specific channels while others like Chewy are available on all channels 24/7.
Reviews and ratings
Before you buy from an online shopping website, take the time to scan through customer reviews. Look for detailed reviews and consistent ratings that help you gauge whether the site is legit and score highly in all the above pointers.
Meanwhile, if the site is a marketplace, you’d want to read reviews of the particular seller you’re purchasing from to decide if they can be trusted.
Additionally, read reviews of the specific products you want to purchase to see if it has any issues. Shopping sites like Credo have a helpful review system for making this evaluation.
Find Digital Products, Services, and Communities on Whop
By now you know the best places to buy anything online, from used clothing to organic food, and if you're looking to purchase digital products you'll know that there's only one place that matters - Whop.
When you explore the Whop Marketplace you can find products that help you to learn and earn. Check out the reselling category and learn how to flip things for profit. Browse the Sports Picks category and join a community dedicated to helping you become a better bettor.
From sailing coaching to fitness communities, digital coloring books to dating advice, you can find it all right here on Whop.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about online shopping sites:
What are the best shopping sites for clothes?
Amazon works well, especially for fast shipping. Other options include Depop, Poshmark, Mercari, ThredUp, and SHEIN.
What are the best cheap online shopping sites?
eBay, Alibaba, and AliExpress are the best cheap shopping sites for a wide range of products. And if you’re specifically looking for cheaper options for clothes, SHEIN and ThreadUp are great options too.
What are the best online shopping sites for mature women?
Nordstrom is a great place to start. For more budget-friendly options, check out Kohl’s, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and White House Black Market.
