Amazon Enjoys Record Year For Kindle Family

The celebration continues at Amazon. In addition to the Kindle Fire outselling the competition, Amazon can now lay claim for its Kindle family having record-breaking sales. While not giving a specific number, the company claims “customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers”. It isn’t as if it’s a complicated formula for Amazon either. That attractive $199 price point and assortment of features makes it much more accessible for consumers wanting to enjoy a tablet experience. All of this adds up to the Kindle Fire being the best-selling product on Amazon.com’s mobile website and across all of Amazon.com’s mobile applications.

Also of note are the successes of Kindle book downloads & sales from authors as well as the sales of products from 3rd party businesses. Amazon highlights “In 2011, Kindle Direct Publishing and CreateSpace author CJ Lyons reached #2 on the Amazon best seller list, #2 on the New York Times best seller list, and #4 on the USA Today best seller list”. The company also points out “the number of sellers who exceeded $5,000 in sales during the holiday season increased 44 percent year-over-year. For the year, businesses on Amazon sold hundreds of millions of units worth billions of dollars worldwide”. The champagne certainly must be flowing at the Amazon corporate offices even though we’re still a few days from the new year. Hit the break to see the full presser from Amazon.

Amazon customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers

#1 and #4 best-selling Kindle books released in 2011 published independently by authors using Kindle Direct Publishing

Businesses selling on Amazon have record-breaking holiday sales

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 29, 2011– (NASDAQ: AMZN) -Amazon.com, Inc.today announced that 2011 was the best holiday ever for the Kindle family as customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers. Authors also continue to benefit from the success of Kindle — the #1 and #4 best-selling Kindle books released in 2011 were both published independently by their authors usingKindle Direct Publishing(KDP).

“We are grateful to our customers worldwide for making this the best holiday ever for Kindle,” saidJeff Bezos,Amazon.comfounder and CEO. “And in a huge milestone for independent publishing, we’d also like to congratulateDarcie Chan, the author of ‘The Mill River Recluse,’ andChris Culver, the author of ‘The Abbey,’ for writing two of the best-selling Kindle books of the year.”

More Kindle holiday facts:

• Throughout December, customers purchased well over 1 million Kindle devices per week.
• The new Kindle family held the top three spots on theAmazon.combest seller charts – #1: Kindle Fire, #2: Kindle Touch, #3: Kindle.
• Kindle Fire is the #1 best-selling, most gifted, and most wished for product across the millions of items available onAmazon.comsince its introduction 13 weeks ago.
• Kindle is also the best-selling product on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es and Amazon.it this holiday season.
• Gifting of Kindle books was up 175 percent between this Black Friday andChristmas Daycompared to the same period in 2010.
• Christmas Daywas the biggest day ever for Kindle book downloads.
• Kindle Fire is the best-selling product on Amazon.com’s mobile website and across all of Amazon.com’s mobile applications.

Additional Kindle Direct Publishingsuccesses include:

• December’s #1 best-sellingKindle Direct Publishingbook “Wife by Wednesday” was also the #5 overall best-selling Kindle book in December and has appeared on both theUSA TodayandWall Street Journalbest seller lists. AuthorCatherine Bybeewas formerly an emergency room registered nurse, and has now left her job to focus on writing full-time.
• In 2011, KDP and CreateSpace author CJ Lyons reached #2 on theAmazonbest seller list, #2 on the New York Times best seller list, and #4 on the USA Today best seller list. As a former pediatric ER doctor, CJ has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels, and she quit her job in medicine after 17 years to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time novelist. Her latest work includes “Face to Face” and “Hot Water.”

Businesses Selling on Amazon

2011 was also a record-breaking holiday season for businesses that sell onAmazon. Third-party sellers experienced record holiday growth: the number of sellers who exceeded$5,000in sales during the holiday season increased 44 percent year-over-year. For the year, businesses onAmazonsold hundreds of millions of units worth billions of dollars worldwide.

Scharf Industries, an office supplies and electronics provider, increased its sales onAmazonby over 500 percent this holiday season compared with last holiday season.

“We greatly value the cooperation that we have developed with Amazon,” said Andrew D. Scharf, CMO ofScharf Industries. “They have provided us with the tools necessary to grow our business in a rapid and efficient manner.”

Ken Reiss, the owner ofReiss Innovations, LLC, started with oneAmazonWebstore, selling five to 10 mouse pads for the year. Six years later he has a successful eCommerce business, selling through multipleAmazonWebstores. Just this year alone, Reiss saw a 21 percent increase in sales compared with the holiday season last year. He has also increased the number of product listings by 50 percent over 2010 and recently extended his business toCanada.

According to Reiss, one of the most beneficial aspects of his relationship withAmazonis that “It allows me to scale in efficiency. I can devote my time to building vendor relations and growing my inventory, rather than worrying about logistical aspects, such as shipping products.” Reiss currently stores 90 percent of his inventory in Amazon’s warehouses, up from 75 percent last year.

Other seller successes include:

• Amazon’s third-party sellers sold enough cameras for every fan at the next 10 Super Bowls to snap their own shots of the winning touchdown.
• Amazon’s third-party sellers sold enough toys in 2011 to give a toy to every resident ofChicago. In fact, they sold as many Lalaloopsy Dolls as there are lights on the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree inNew York City.
• Debra Keyes, CEO of The Internet Department Store, which sells costumes for both adults and children, began utilizing Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) – theAmazon service that stores, packs and ships orders for third-party sellers – as soon as it launched. ByJanuary 2011, she had 1,300 products listed in FBA. That number has now grown to 7,800 products byNovember 2011. During that same time period, the company’s sales increased by 34 percent.

Holiday Fun Facts

Shipping:

• The last One-Day Prime order that was delivered in time for Christmas was placed onDec. 22at11:59 p.m. PSTand shipped toBallwin, Mo.The item was “The Cook’s Herb Garden,” a book byJeff CoxandMarie-Pierre Moine.
• The last Local Express Delivery order that was delivered in time for Christmas went toSeattle, Wash.It was a Sony Rechargeable Battery Pack that was ordered at2:35 p.m. PSTonChristmas Eveand delivered at6:15 p.m. PSTthat same evening.
• Earlier this year, anAmazoncustomer called with an urgent request for large volume of a single book, which they needed at the airport the next day before they boarded a flight. The books were special gifts and no other retailer had them available in such short notice. Even though the cutoff time had passed for all traditional delivery methods,Amazonwas able to arrange a delivery to the customer’s hotel just prior to their departure for the airport.

Customer Purchases (Amazon.comonly; holiday timeframe-specific):

• Amazoncustomers purchased enough copies of Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” book to create a stack taller than Mt. Everest.
• The cumulative weight of the Bowflex 552 Adjustable Dumbbells purchased byAmazoncustomers would outweigh more than 70 adult elephants.
• If you unfolded and stacked each pair of jeans purchased byAmazoncustomers this holiday, the height would be 2,500 times taller than the Statue of Liberty.
• Amazoncustomers purchased enough sweaters to outfit each of Santa’s reindeer duringChristmas Evedeliveries for the next 14,000 years.
• Amazoncustomers purchased enough copies ofJust Dance3 to give 15 copies to each person who participated in setting the world record for simultaneous dancing.
• Amazoncustomers purchased enough HeatMax HotHands Handwarmers to give a pair to each resident ofIceland.
• Amazoncustomers purchased enough Rory’s Story Cubes to give a cube to each person watching the New Year’s Eve ball drop live atTimes Square.

Holiday Best Sellers (Amazon.com only; based on units ordered):

• Electronics: Kindle Fire; Kindle Touch; and Kindle
• Toys: Rory’s Story Cubes; Qwirkle Board Game; and Perplexus Maze Game
• Video Games:Just Dance3; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3; and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Sports & Outdoors: Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation DVD Set; Emergency Fire Starter; and Flexible Flyer Snowball Maker
• Home & Kitchen: Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler; Fred M-Cups Measuring Matroyshkas; and Pure Komachi 2 Series Hollow-Ground Santoku Knife
• Books: “Steve Jobs” byWalter Isaacson; “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever” byJeff Kinney; and “11/22/63” byStephen King
• Kindle Books: “The Hunger Games” bySuzanne Collins; “Catching Fire” bySuzanne Collins; and “The Litigators” byJohn Grisham
• CD: “Christmas” by Michael Bublé; “21” by Adele; and “Duets II” byTony Bennett
• Amazon MP3: “100 Classic Christmas Songs” by Various Artists; “Mylo Xyloto” by Coldplay; and “A Very She & Him Christmas” by She & Him
• DVD: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2”; “Bridesmaids”; and “The Help”
• Amazon Instant Video: “Super 8”; “The Help”; and “Crazy, Stupid, Love”
• Watches:Timex1440 Sports Digital Resin Strap Watch;LEGO Kids’ StarWars Darth Vader Mini-Figure Alarm Clock; and XOXO Rhinestone Accent Gold-Tone Bracelet Watch
• Jewelry: 10k White Gold Round Diamond Stud Earrings;Sterling SilverAmethyst Butterfly Pendant; and White Peacock and Pink Freshwater Cultured Pearl Button 3 Pair Stud Earrings Set
• Clothing: Levi’s 501 Jean; Levi’s 505 Straight Fit Jean; and Levi’s 550 Relaxed Fit Jean
• Shoes: UGG Australia Classic Tall Boots; Crocs Classic Clog; and BEARPAW Emma Short Boot
• Beauty: Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift Eau de Parfum Spray; Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System; and NARS Orgasm Blush
• Health & Personal Care: Philips Norelco SensoTouch Electric Shaver; Philips Norelco Shaving System; andPhilips Sonicare Essence PowerToothbrush
• Tools & Home Improvement: Streamlight Nano Light Miniature Keychain LED Flashlight; Smith’s PP1 Pocket Pal Multifunction Sharpener; and Black & Decker All-In-One SureGrip Laser Level
• Automotive: Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger; Wagan 12-Volt Heated Seat Cushion; and Mystic Industries Reindeer Vehicle Costume
• Baby: Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes; Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether; and Cloud B Twilight Turtle Constellation Night Light
• AmazonWireless: Motorola DROID RAZR 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless); Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G Android Phone (Sprint); and Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Android Phone (AT&T)
• Amazon Appstore for Android: Angry Birds (Ad-Free); TETRIS; and Pandora Internet Radio

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based inSeattle, opened on the World Wide Web inJuly 1995and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection.Amazon.com, Inc.seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.Amazon.comand other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services providesAmazon’sdeveloper customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based onAmazon’sown back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most compact Kindle ever and features the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch 3G is the top of the line e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch, with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle Fire is the Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon’snew revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core processor.

Amazonand its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk,www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn,www.amazon.it, and www.amazon.es. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms includeAmazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affectAmazon.com’sfinancial results is included inAmazon.com’sfilings with theSecurities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

Source:Amazon.com, Inc.

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