Virtual Sales Boom

28 December 2007



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Amazon Has Best Year Ever

For the retail business, this wasn’t the Christmas season many wanted. The International Council of Shopping Centers said its index of chain-store sales rose 2.8% last week, below the ICSC’s expectations. Target’s same store sales are also below expectations, and they may even be in negative territory. Meanwhile, Amazon is staring at its best year ever.

Forget Cyber Monday, kids. Amazon’s busiest day was December 10. The Company said in a press release, “On that day, Amazon customers ordered more than 5.4 million items, which is 62.5 items per second . . . . On the peak day this season, Amazon's worldwide fulfillment network shipped over 3.9 million units.”

Of course, it helped that there were hot, “must-have” products for Amazon to sell. In DVDs, top sellers included "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." And while they were in stock, the company sold a Nintendo Wii every 17th of a second.

Where Amazon scores above the brick and mortar competition is in its ease of use. Some people can’t wait to get to the mall right after Thanksgiving. Saner individuals would rather point and click their way through the shopping season. And in the case of the Wii, it’s faster to discover the on-line retailers are sold out than to go to every shop in every mall in town to find out the same thing. On-line shopping just hasn’t arrived – it’s starting to take over.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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