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 using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
“We are grateful to our customers worldwide for making this the best
holiday ever for Kindle,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO.
“And in a huge milestone for independent publishing, we’d also like to
congratulate Darcie Chan, the author of ‘The Mill River Recluse,’ and
Chris 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 the
Amazon.com best 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 on
Amazon.com since 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 and
Christmas Day compared to the same period in 2010.
Christmas Day was 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 Publishing successes include:
December’s #1 best-selling Kindle Direct Publishing book
“Wife by Wednesday” was also the #5 overall best-selling Kindle book in
December and has appeared on both the USA Today and Wall
Street Journal best seller lists. Author Catherine Bybee
was 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 the
Amazon best 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
on Amazon. Third-party sellers experienced record holiday growth: 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.
Scharf Industries, an office supplies and electronics provider,
increased its sales on Amazon by 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 of Scharf Industries. “They have provided us
with the tools necessary to grow our business in a rapid and efficient
manner.”
Ken Reiss, the owner of Reiss Innovations, LLC, started with one Amazon
Webstore, selling five to 10 mouse pads for the year. Six years later he
has a successful eCommerce business, selling through multiple Amazon
Webstores. 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 to Canada.
According to Reiss, one of the most beneficial aspects of his
relationship with Amazon is 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 of Chicago.
In fact, they sold as many Lalaloopsy Dolls as there are lights on the
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in
New York City.
Debra Keyes, CEO of The Internet Department Store,
which sells costumes for both adults and children, beganutilizing
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) – the Amazon service that stores,
packs and ships orders for third-party sellers – as soon as it launched.
By January 2011, she had 1,300 products listed in FBA.
That number has now grown to 7,800 products by November 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
on Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. PST and shipped
to Ballwin, Mo.
The item was “The Cook’s Herb Garden,” a book by Jeff Cox
and Marie-Pierre Moine.
The last
Local Express Delivery order that was delivered in time for Christmas
went to Seattle,
Wash. It was a Sony Rechargeable Battery Pack that was
ordered at 2:35 p.m. PST on Christmas Eve
and delivered at 6:15 p.m. PST that same evening.
Earlier
this year, an Amazon
customer 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,
Amazon was able to arrange a delivery to the customer’s hotel just
prior to their departure for the airport.
Amazon customers 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 by
Amazon customers would outweigh more than 70 adult elephants.
If you
unfolded and stacked each pair of jeans purchased by
Amazon customers this holiday, the height would be 2,500
times taller than the Statue of Liberty.
Amazon customers purchased enough sweaters to outfit each of
Santa’s reindeer during Christmas Eve deliveries for the
next 14,000 years.
Amazon customers purchased enough copies of Just Dance
3 to give 15 copies to each person who participated in setting the world
record for simultaneous dancing.
Amazon customers purchased enough HeatMax HotHands Handwarmers to
give a pair to each resident of
Iceland.
Amazon customers purchased enough Rory’s Story Cubes to give a
cube to each person watching the New Year’s Eve ball drop live at
Times 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 Dance 3; 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” by Walter Isaacson; “Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
Cabin Fever” by Jeff Kinney; and “11/22/63” by
Stephen King
Kindle
Books: “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins; “Catching
Fire” by Suzanne Collins; and “The Litigators” by
John Grisham
CD:
“Christmas” by Michael Bublé; “21” by Adele; and “Duets II” by
Tony 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:
Timex 1440 Sports Digital Resin Strap Watch; LEGO Kids' Star
Wars Darth Vader Mini-Figure Alarm Clock; and XOXO Rhinestone Accent
Gold-Tone Bracelet Watch
Jewelry:
10k White Gold Round Diamond Stud Earrings; Sterling Silver
Amethyst 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; and Philips Sonicare Essence Power
Toothbrush
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
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 using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). 