Amazon has announced it has had a “record-breaking” holiday season, with over 1.5 billion toys, electronics and more delivered worldwide.
Some of the best-selling items during the 2020 holiday season included the following items:
“Amazonians around the world have truly shown what it means to be customer-centric and support our communities this year,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer, in a statement.
“When our customers—including healthcare workers on the front lines—most needed essential supplies, our teams and partners went above and beyond to stock and deliver those items. And when customers needed a little extra holiday cheer, millions of employees and partners worked together to deliver more savings and holiday gifts than ever before. We couldn’t be prouder of, or more thankful for our teams around the world,” added Wilke.
Amazon also noted Alexa video calling doubled compared to last year. Alexa was also asked “tens of millions of times” to help people turn on their holiday lights, working out to more than once every second.
For independent businesses selling on Amazon, they saw global sales increase over 50% compared to 2019, as small and medium-sized businesses sold close to 1 billion products online.
In 2020, Amazon says it hired over 400,000 full-time and part-time employees across the globe, while also invested $2.5 billion in front-line bonuses for employees, including a $500 million holiday bonus for 2020.
Amazon also detailed its charitable initiatives in Canada, such as its Delivering Smiles program.
