Amazon stuck with its mystery theme for this year’s holiday sales performance review, saying things like “record-breaking” and “record growth” without really talking about actual solid numbers or dollars. The company did reveal some stats that, even surrounded by an obscuring fog of relative terms, are worth paying attention to. The company signed up over 10 million new Amazon Prime members (and 10+ million is an actual, quantifiable number) and the ecommerce giant saw almost 60 percent of shopper activity come from mobile platforms, including its native apps and mobile websites.
Last year, Amazon reported that more than half of its customers were using mobile devices to shop, so there’s relatively little change with this year’s total only ‘approaching’ 60 percent. Still, both represent a huge change from prior holiday shopping seasons, indicating that transactions on mobile devices is becoming the default option, and that this isn’t just a fleeting fad or freak occurrence.
Amazon’s Prime membership increase is likely the Christmas gift Jeff Bezos is most excited about, as their premium service tier is arguably the key to the company’s long-term strategy, as well as its revenue and profitability goals. Amazon was pegged to have an estimated 50 million Prime members across its global websites as of September, up from an estimated 20 million plus back in January. If it added another 10 million to its ranks in this holiday season alone, that’s sizeable growth in a remarkably short period of time. The company did a lot to improve the value proposition of Prime in 2014, even if it also raised the annual price for membership in the same year.
Amazon’s mobile shopping saw the most growth on Black Friday specifically, while Cyber Monday continued to rule as the top shopping day on the ecommerce site. The Amazon native smartphone app for iOS, Android and other platforms saw shopping volume double compared to 2014, which either indicates that Amazon has done a better job with improvements to the app, or suggests mobile users are gravitating more towards apps for online buying, as opposed to mobile and other websites.
The site also shared its top-sellers in various categories, which both unsurprising (Hunger Games was popular) and surprising (Chromebooks led computer sales) success stories. Check out the full list below if you’re curious just what people were buying this holiday:
- Tablets: Fire HD 7, Fire HD 6, Fire HDX 7
- Books: Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliott; Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney; Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General by Bill O’Reilly
- Kindle Books: The Burning Room by Michael Connelly; Gray Mountain by John Grisham; Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Amazon Instant Video: The Walking Dead Season 5; Sons of Anarchy Season 7; Maleficent; Guardians of the Galaxy
- Prime Instant Video: Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Alpha House Season 2
- Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy (3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Digital Copy +DVD); Maleficent (2-Disct Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)
- Prime Music: Christmas by Michael Bublé; Greatest Hits by Journey; All the Little Lights by Passenger
- Music (CD): That’s Christmas to Me by Pentatonix; 1989 by Taylor Swift; Frozen Karaoke from Disney’s Karaoke Series
- MP3: That’s Christmas To Me by Pentatonix; 1989 by Taylor Swift; Sonic Highways by Foo Fighters
- Toys: Disney Frozen Sparkle Princess Elsa Doll; Anki DRIVE Starter Kit Smart Robot Car Racing Game; Bounce-Off Game
- TVs: Samsung 32-inch 1080p 60Hz Smart LED TV; Samsung 40-inch 1080p 60Hz Smart LED TV; LG Electronics 42-inch 1080p 60Hz LED TV
- Cameras: GoProHeadstrap Mount + Quick Clip; GoProHERO4 SILVER; Accessories Kit for GoProHero4
- Accessories: Amazon Basics HDMI Cable, 6.5 feet; Amazon Basics HDMI Cable 2 pack, 6.5 feet; Amazon Basics HDMI Cable, 3 feet
- Computers: Acer C720Chromebook (11.6-inch, 2GB); ASUS Chromebook 13-inch with Gigabit WiFi (16GB, 2GB); HP 11-2010nr 11.6-inch Chromebook (Snow White)
- Video Games: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare; Just Dance 2015; Super Smash Bros
- Baby: Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes; Baby Banana Bendable Training Toothbrush; Baby Einstein Bendy Ball
- Beauty: L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream; Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner; LORAC PRO Palette
- Sports: SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop; SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop XL; Spalding NBA Street Basketball, official size 7; Wilson NFL MVP Football
- Outdoors: Lifestraw Personal Water Filter; Emergency Mylar Thermal Blankets; Zippo A-Frame Hand Warmer
- Pets: Nylabone Dura Chew Original Flavored Dental Dinosaur Chew Toy; Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food, Hi Prairie Canine Formula with Roasted Bison and Venison; KONG Cozie Marvin the Moose, Medium Dog Toy, Brown
- Patio, Lawn and Garden: Masterbuilt Butterball Indoor Gen III Electric Fryer Cooker Extra LargeCapacity; Toro Ultra 12 Amp Variable-Speed (up to 235) Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller; GreenWorks 12 Amp 20-inch Corded Snow Thrower
- Home Improvement: O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Cream, 3.4-Ounce; WBM Himalayan Light #1002 Natural Air Purifying Himalayan Salt Lamp with Neem Wood Base, Bulb and Dimmer Switch; Nest Learning Thermostat, 2nd Generation
- Tools: Stanley 66-344 4-in-1 Pocket Screwdriver; DEWALTDC970K-2 18-Volt Drill/Driver Kit; Dorcy 41-2510 Floating Waterproof LED Flashlight with Carabineer Clip, 55-Lumens, Yellow Kitchen: Artisan (2 pack) Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat Set, 16 5/8 x 11; Rubbermaid 42-Piece Easy Find Lid Food Storage Set; CuisinartGR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler
- Automotive: Swiss+Tech ST53100 Micro-Max 19-in-1 Key Ring Multi-Function Pocket Tool; Mallory 532 26-inch Snow Brush with Foam Grip; Battery Tender 021-0123 Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger
- Business, Industrial and Scientific Supplies: Amprobe BAT-250 Battery Tester; Rubbermaid Commercial Products High Heat Spoon Scraper 9 1/2-inch, Red
- Women’s Apparel: Columbia Women’s Benton Springs Full-Zip Fleece Jacket; Playtex Women’s 18-Hour Original Comfort-Strap Bra #4693; Hue Women’s Ultra Leggings with Wide Waistband
- Women’s Shoes: Dr. Martens Women’s 1460 Originals Eight-Eye Lace-Up Boot; Minnetonka Women’s Cally Faux Fur Slipper; ASICS Women’s GEL-Kayano 20 Running Shoe
- Jewelry: Sterling silver I Love You To The Moon and Back two-piece pendant necklace, 18-inch; Two-toned sterling silver with yellow gold flashed heart Mom I Love You To The Moon and Back pendant necklace, 18-inch; Alex and Ani Bangle Bar Path of Life Rafaelian silver finish expandable bracelet
- Watches: Disney Kids’ Frozen Anna and Elsa Digital Watch; Disney Kids’ Frozen Anna Snow Queen Stainless Steel Watch; U.S. Polo Assn. Sport Men’s Watch
- Men’s Apparel: Duofold Men’s Thermal Mid Weight Wicking Bottom; Columbia Men’s Steens Mountain Full Zip 2.0 Fleece Jacket; Levi’s Men’s 501 Original Fit Jean
- Men’s Shoes: Clarks Men’s Bushacre 2 Desert Boots; ASICS Men’s GEL-Kayano 20 Running Shoe; Timberland White Ledge Waterproof Boot
- Kid’s Apparel: Little Girls’ Disney Frozen 7-Pack Panty Set; Jefferies Socks Little Girls’ Cable Tights selling; Gerber Uni-sex 5-Pack Variety Onesies