Amazon reports $4.8B in weekend sales from independent businesses on its platform

Amazon announced Tuesday that independent businesses on its platform received more than $4.8 billion in sales worldwide from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. 

The company said in a press release that this revenue marked a more than 60 percent increase from this time last year, with more than 71,000 small- and medium-sized businesses around the world surpassing $100,000 in sales to date this holiday season. 

It added that American small- and medium-sized businesses have so far sold an average of 9,500 products per minute in recent weeks. 

Amazon said that amid the coronavirus pandemic, it is seeing “record demand” from customers, making it the company’s “biggest holiday season to date.” 

“In a holiday season unlike any other, it’s clear that customers still want great deals on gifts for their loved ones or a little something extra for themselves, and we’re glad to help deliver smiles throughout the season,” Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, said in the press release. 

The tech giant said that among the weekend’s most popular items were its new Echo Dot and former President Obama’s memoir “A Promised Land.” Other top sellers included the Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer Hot Air Brush.

According to Reuters, latest industry estimates showed Cyber Monday to be the biggest online shopping day in history for the U.S., with up to $11.4 billion in sales. 

While this was a decrease from the $12.7 billion Bloomberg had predicted for Monday, it surpasses the $9 billion Black Friday figure, as well as last year’s Cyber Monday total of $9.4 billion. 

Reuters reported that Ottawa, Canada-based Shopify said on Tuesday that total Thanksgiving weekend sales increased by 76 percent to $5.1 billion, surpassing the previous record of more than $2.9 billion by Saturday evening.

“The record sales … demonstrate the power of the independent and direct-to-consumer businesses,” Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said, according to Reuters.