Amazon Sets Holiday Shopping Records

Online retailer Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN appears to have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of a happy holiday shopping season, reporting record orders and dropping off gifts right up through the night before Christmas.

Mastercard Inc MA said Wednesday that online shopping was up 19.1 percent compared to 2017.

Amazon’s Prime service, with its free shipping, posted its strongest holiday numbers yet. The company shipped more than 1 billion items to customers for free via Prime, Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke said in a statement. 

Holiday Bestsellers

Among the bestselling items: Echo Dot personal assistants, Bose wireless headphones and items from outdoor apparel company Carhartt.

Bestselling toys on Amazon included the L.O.L. Surprise! Glam Glitter Series Doll, Nerf guns and the Crayola Inspiration Art Case.  In addition to wireless headphones, other top-selling electronics on Amazon included the Samsung Flat 65-inch Smart LED TV and Apple Inc. AAPL's iPads.

Growth In Apparel 

While it didn’t release specific numbers, Amazon said its Prime service added tens of millions of people on trials or memberships.

More than half the items sold on Amazon this year came from small- or medium-sized businesses, according to the retailer. 

The record orders for Amazon were part of what appears to have been a good holiday season overall.

Mastercard reported Wednesday that sales year-over-year grew by 5.1 percent to $850 billion, the strongest in six years. In addition to online sales, the holiday was boosted by a big gain at apparel stores, which saw 7.9 percent year-to-year growth, according to Mastercard.

That led stocks of some top apparel retailers higher, including American Eagle Outfitters AEO and Kohl’s Corporation KSS, which were both trading more than 7-percent higher at the time of publication. 

Amazon shares were up 6.35 percent at $1,429.34.

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Photo courtesy of Amazon.