SEATTLE, Dec 27, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Global online retailer Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) today announced that its holiday Delight-O-Meter tallied over 37.9 million items ordered as of midnight PST December 21, 2001.
The Delight-O-Meter counted items ordered from all five Amazon sites: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de and Amazon.co.jp, from November 9 through December 21. Items ordered from the non-U.S. sites totaled more than 10 million.
Here are the bestselling products from the 37.9 million items ordered:
-- Harry Potter ruled across all Amazon sites, with some 450,000 Harry Potter books and related products sold this holiday. -- Also universally popular was the Shrek video and DVD, of which Amazon sites sold more than 150,000 copies worldwide. -- LeapPad, the talking interactive book, was this year's most popular toy at Amazon, with the GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation2 all big sellers as well. -- In electronics, DVD players topped the list. -- And the music winner was the CD Swing When You're Winning by British pop star Robbie Williams, which sold nearly 100,000 copies on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de alone. Last-minute holiday shoppers also turned to Amazon.com: -- More than 36,000 items were purchased using Amazon's Last-Minute Shipping option, offered from Dec. 21 to noon Dec. 22, for arrival in time for Christmas with expedited shipping. Nearly half of those orders were shipped to non-billing address locations, and over 60 percent were gift-wrapped. -- Also popular with last-minute shoppers were gift certificates, magazine subscriptions and Circuit City purchases with in-store pickup, available through Amazon.com's new Circuit City store. -- The final order using Amazon.com's Last-Minute Shipping option, placed at approximately 12:00 noon PST Saturday, Dec. 22, was a first order by a new customer. The "Miracle Moves Baby" doll by Mattel arrived on the destination doorstep in Hickory, North Carolina, on Dec. 24 at. 12:51 p.m. -- In another last-minute shopping order -- A 'last package' had missed the carrier pick-up at Amazon.com's Fernley, Nevada, fulfillment center, so a manager from the fulfillment center drove directly to the destination in Sacramento, California, and delivered it to the customer's doorstep. He was rewarded with peanut brittle, chocolate fudge and thanks.
In its seventh holiday season, Amazon.com again shipped well in excess of 99 percent of holiday orders on time to meet holiday deadlines -- including those placed by noon PST on Dec. 22.
Amazon.com also announced today that it will Webcast its fourth quarter 2001 financial results conference call on Tuesday, January 22, 2002, beginning at 8:30 a.m. EST/5:30 a.m. PST. This conference call will contain forward-looking statements and other material information. The conference call will be Webcast live at www.amazon.com/ir and be available through at least March 31, 2002. The Company does not intend to release any preliminary results for the fourth quarter.
Amazon.com's chief financial officer, Warren Jenson, will be speaking at the Morgan Stanley Internet, Software and Networking Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 8, 2002, at 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST. The audio of this presentation will be Webcast live and be available through February 8, 2002, at www.amazon.com/ir.
Note: The Delight-O-Meter should not be viewed or used as a predictor or indicator of revenue or other financial information relating to Amazon.com.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection, along with online auctions and free electronic greeting cards. Amazon.com seeks to be the world's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Amazon.com and sellers list millions of unique new and used items in categories such as electronics, computers, kitchen and housewares, books, music, DVDs, videos, camera and photo items, toys, baby and baby registry, software, computer and video games, cell phones and service, tools and hardware, travel services, magazine subscriptions and outdoor living products. Through Amazon Marketplace, zShops and Auctions, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.com's millions of customers, and with Amazon.com Payments, sellers can accept credit card transactions, avoiding the hassles of offline payments. Amazon.com also offers the Amazon Credit Account, the online equivalent of a department store credit card, which provides shoppers the opportunity to buy now and pay later when shopping at Amazon.com.
Amazon.com operates four international Web sites: www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr and www.amazon.co.jp. It also operates the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and authoritative source of information on more than 275,000 movies and entertainment titles and 1 million cast and crewmembers dating from the birth of film.
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, Amazon.com's anticipated losses, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, strategic alliances, strategic partnerships and business combinations, seasonality, potential fluctuations in operating results and rate of growth, management of potential growth, risks of system interruption, international expansion, consumer trends, risk of fulfillment center optimization, inventory risks, limited operating history, risks related to fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and risks of new business areas. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, and all subsequent filings, including Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.