Amazon sees biggest holiday season ever in 2020

SMBs selling on the platform rack up $4.8bn in sales from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday

Amazon has seen its business boom after stay-at-home directives to contain Covid-19 prompted people to shop online. Courtesy Amazon

Amazon said the 2020 holiday shopping season is its “largest” so far, though the e-commerce giant did not disclose the overall sales it netted during the period.

Independent businesses selling on the platform, nearly all of which are small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), racked up $4.8 billion in sales from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday, an increase of over 60 per cent from last year, Amazon said in a statement.

“To give customers more time to save and more flexibility during an unusual time, Amazon kicked off the holiday season earlier than ever, just after Prime Day [October 13-14],” the company said.

“Through Cyber Monday, 2020 has been the largest holiday shopping season so far in our company’s history.”

Amazon has committed $100 million to help SMBs reach more customers through the holidays.

More than 71,000 SMBs worldwide each achieved sales worth $100,000 during this holiday season to date, the company said.

The e-commerce giant, which had stepped up hiring ahead of the shopping season, said it created nearly 2.2 million jobs to meet the growing demand of customers.

SMBs in the US sold an average of 9,500 products per minute this holiday season to date.

SMBs tend to differ from SMEs by employment, with the former often relying on part-time workers or outsourced staff and the latter employing full-time workers.

“I have seen a lot over 22 peak holiday seasons at Amazon but nothing as inspiring as the grit and determination shown by all the teams in 2020 ... whether it’s our tech teams, operators, drivers, fulfillment employees, sortation and store associates, and so many others,” Dave Clark, senior vice president of Amazon Worldwide Operations, said.

Last week, Amazon said it will pay $500m in additional bonuses this holiday season, bringing its total spend on special bonuses and pay incentives to over $2.5bn in 2020.

The company said it has implemented more than 150 safety measures for employees, associates and drivers to prevent the spread of Covid-19. These include new processes and space planning to ensure social distancing, extra sanitisation stations, the provision of face coverings and daily temperature checks. It will spend nearly $10bn this year to help keep employees safe and deliver products to customers.

Amazon has seen its business boom after stay-at-home directives to contain Covid-19 prompted people to shop online. Its shares have surged more than 70 per cent this year.

“In a holiday season unlike any other, it’s clear that customers still want great deals … we are glad to help deliver smiles throughout the season,” said Jeff Wilke, chief executive of Amazon Worldwide Consumer.

Amazon has also been on a hiring spree in many countries across the world as it looks to meet growing demand. The e-commerce giant said it created nearly 2.2 million jobs ahead of the holiday season.

In September, the company said it is adding 10,000 new permanent jobs and 20,000 seasonal positions in the UK, and 100,000 new permanent and part-time employees in the US and Canada as it expands operations.

It has increased its storage capacity by over 45 per cent across its fulfilment network and opened a new delivery station in the UAE, creating more than 2,000 permanent and seasonal jobs, the company said in a statement last week.