Amazon CE Sales Soar
By Jeff Malester -- TWICE, 8/8/2005
Seattle— Second-quarter North American sales in the electronics and other general merchandise segment at Amazon jumped 23 percent, climbing to $278 million.
The segment includes consumer electronics, office and camera sales.
The online retailer said that second-quarter North American sales for its largest segment, media, grew 17 percent in the period ended June 30, rising to $632 million. Media includes DVD rental and retail sales of DVD/video, software, video games and video game consoles.
Net sales growth across North America in the second quarter, which accounted for 55 percent of Amazon's total sales mix in the three months, increased 21 percent, hitting $960 million. Operating income in North America in the second quarter rose 9 percent to $72 million.
Net shipping costs increased 31 percent in the second quarter, to $45 million, due primarily to costs of free shipping and the retailer's six-month-old Prime program, which provides unlimited two-day shipping with no minimum order size for $79 a year.
“Though expensive for the company, Amazon Prime creates a premium experience for customers who join,” said Jeff Bezos, founder/CEO. Amazon said this benefit particularly has helped to boost CE segment sales.
