Amazon Kicks Off Holiday Shopping Season With Record-Setting Numbers, It Says

It was a record-setting start to the holiday shopping season for Amazon (AMZN).

The online retailing giant reported that its Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday event from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 had all-time highs for sales and number of items sold.

Amazon noted that more than 60% of sales in its store were from independent sellers, which it noted were mostly small- and medium-sized businesses.

The company touted its low prices, pointing to a study by e-commerce analytics firm Profitero that “found that Amazon had the lowest online prices entering the holiday season, on average 14% lower, compared to other leading retailers in the U.S. for the eighth year in a row.”

Amazon Says Generative AI Features Helped Shoppers

The company also made a point of getting in on the buzz over artificial intelligence (AI), noting that it is using generative AI features to make the shopping experience faster and easier. 

Amazon was not alone is posting big numbers. E-commerce researcher Adobe found that consumers spent $41.1 billion from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, an 8.2% increase from a year ago.

Shares of Amazon recently rose 1% to $212.79, approaching their all-time high of $215.90 set last month.