Amazon's holiday sales jump 60%

The e-commerce giant reported another record-setting start to the holiday season.

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A happy man and woman on a computer at Christmas, indicating a positive trend for retail shares.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

In a blog post Tuesday, Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced that the 2020 holiday shopping season through Cyber Monday has been its "biggest holiday season to date". Consumer behaviour has undergone a dramatic shift as the coronavirus pandemic has caused shoppers to pivot to e-commerce for their gift-giving needs. 

Amazon revealed that independent businesses on its platform generated $4.8 billion in worldwide sales between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, an increase of 60% year over year.

The company "offered more deals than ever before" to kick off its holiday shopping season early this year, which began immediately after wrapping up its belated Prime Day sales event. As a result, customers began shopping earlier, attracted by the "deep discount and deals" that Amazon dropped in mid-October.

Small- and medium-sized businesses in the US have sold roughly 9,500 products per minute so far during this holiday season, and more than 71,000 businesses worldwide exceeded $100,000 in sales.

One trend that has been consistent in recent years has been high demand for Amazon-branded products, with the latest edition of the Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote among the biggest sellers.

Shoppers also sought out Barack Obama's best-selling book A Promised Land, and Revlon's One-Step Hair Dryer and Hot Air Brush. Other top sellers were the Lite-Brite Ultimate Classic, Amazon Smart Plug, and the 23andMe Health and DNA Test

Amazon also identified several notable shopping trends this season, with "self-care, nesting at home, and cozy comfort" leading the pack in the US.

This has already been an extraordinary year of the e-commerce leader, with net sales that jumped 35% year over year during the first nine months of 2020. To give that context, Amazon's net sales grew just 20% during the same period in 2019. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Danny Vena owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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