Dive Brief:

• Apple Inc. saw a 24% rise in web sales in 2013 to $18.3 billion, which includes online sales of hardware products as well as sales through iTunes and its App Store.

• Amazon remains top dog online with $67.8 billion in sales of a wide range of products, outpacing the next 10 largest e-retailers combined.

• Apple took over the number two spot once held by Staples, which is working to improve its web sales but saw only a 1% increase to $10.4 billion, about 45% of its total $23.1 billion revenue in 2013.

Dive Insight:

New Apple chief of retail Angela Ahrendts, who took on her duties this week with a hefty compensation package of $68 million over four years, may find her job a bit easier with the news that Apple is now the number two retailer in online sales. Aside from its App Store and iTunes, Apple’s retail strength has come mostly from its physical stores. Changes from Ahrendts to beef up both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail operations are, to say the least, highly anticipated.