iPods top Xmas shopping list
2005-12-14 08:51
Fernley, Nevada - Apple's iPod shuffle, digital cameras, DVD players and other electronics are some of the most popular items on Amazon.com, Jeff Wilke, senior vice president for operations, said during an interview on Tuesday.
Categories such as home, garden and kitchen items are also doing well this festive season, Wilke said following a tour of the online retailer's fulfillment centre here.
Amazon has five "sortable" fulfillment centres throughout the country that receive, sort and ship items to customers. It also has a few centres overseas.
The online shopping giant expects the current holiday season to be bigger than last year's in terms of items shipped and sales, Wilke told reporters, reiterating similar comments the company made during its third-quarter conference call.
Wilke's comments come as research firms that track online retailers show that the holiday season appears to have been a good one so far. Nielsen/NetRatings says the total number of online shopping trips rose 33% to 462.5 million for the week that ended December 4.
Meanwhile, comScore Networks says nontravel online consumer holiday spending from November 1 through Friday rose 23% to $12.75bn, excluding auctions.
Amazon is in its peak shipping week, although the Seattle-based company won't know until after the holidays what day is the busiest, Wilke said. That day, however, will likely occur two weeks prior to Christmas, he added.
The online retailer had some technical glitches last holiday season, but Wilke said he's not aware of any this year.
Fernley is on Interstate 80, about 30 miles east of Reno. The fulfillment centre is more than 800 000 square feet, about the size of 13 football fields. It has more than nine miles of conveyers.
Amazon shares closed on Tuesday at $49.50, up 43c, or 0.9%.