On Cyber Monday 2013, Amazon.co.uk saw more than 4.1 million items ordered, beating Black Friday 2013, when more than 4 million items were ordered

Black Friday Deals Week returns for a fifth year with more than 3,000 deals, saving customers millions of pounds

Luxembourg, 10th November, 2014 – Amazon.co.uk is gearing up for its busiest week of the year with the return of Black Friday Deals Week, which will feature more than 3,000 deals, offering millions of pounds worth of savings.

Black Friday, which falls on Friday 28th November, will be closely followed by Cyber Monday on Monday 1st December, Amazon.co.uk’s predicted busiest day ever for online shopping.

On Cyber Monday 2013 (Monday 2nd December), Amazon.co.uk saw more than 4.1 million items ordered at a rate of around 47 items per second, with sales peaking at 9.22pm. During Amazon.co.uk’s busiest 24 hour period in 2013, a delivery lorry left one of Amazon’s eight UK fulfilment centres on average, once every 1 minute and 33 seconds. The number of orders placed on Monday 2nd December beat the all-time sales record set just three days before on Black Friday 2013 (Friday 29th November), when more than 4 million items were ordered.

This year, to meet the expected customer demand, Amazon.co.uk is hiring over 13,000 people across the UK for seasonal positions in its fulfilment and customer service centres, with an additional 1,000 permanent roles to be created in the coming months as well.

“Whilst Cyber Monday has always been our biggest single day for sales, the growing success of Black Friday illustrates that it has become a much-anticipated date as the nation prepares for the festive season,” commented Xavier Garambois, Vice President of EU Retail at Amazon. “We first brought Black Friday to the UK in 2010 with 300 deals; now we are offering over 3,000 deals and for many, Black Friday marks the start of the Christmas shopping rush in the UK.”

Black Friday originates in America and comes the day after Thanksgiving when retailers offer massive savings, heralding the start of the Christmas shopping season. The number of products sold on Amazon.co.uk on Black Friday 2013 was over 160% higher than on Black Friday 2010 when the phenomenon was first introduced in the UK. This year, Black Friday Deals Week begins at 8am on Monday 24th November, culminating in Black Friday on Friday 28th November.

“Black Friday took an incredible leap forward in 2013 with so many more customers taking advantage of the great deals on that day, resulting in sales of over 4 million items for the very first time in our history,” commented Christopher North, Managing Director of Amazon.co.uk Ltd. “This year, we are offering more deals and savings than ever before and we are expecting record numbers to benefit from Black Friday Deals Week.”

Black Friday Deals Week offers shoppers ‘Lightning Deals’ - a limited quantity of a discounted product available for a short period of time. This year, Amazon.co.uk will launch new deals every ten minutes withoffers on everything from stocking fillers to fine jewellery. In previous years, the most popular Black Friday deals were snapped up in seconds.

Amazon.co.uk’s Black Friday Deals Week 2014 offers will be announced closer to the launch date. The most popular deals in 2013 were:

• Signed albums from artists including One Direction, James Arthur and Robbie Williams
• Sony PlayStation 3 500GB & GTAV
• Nintendo 3DS Bundle
• Nespresso Coffee Machine Bundle
• Canon Powershot Digital Camera
• Toshiba Ultrabook
• Sony Xperia Z Smartphone
• The Big Bang Theory Season 1-6 (DVD)
• LeapFrog LeapPad2 (Disney-Pixar Monsters University Varsity Edition Bundle)
• Barbie Dream House 2013
• Le Creuset Cookware
• ghd V Jewel Collection Styler Set

Customers can find out more:
Visit www.amazon.co.uk/blackfriday
Subscribe to the Deals Newsletter
Follow Amazon.co.uk on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AmazonUK
Visit the Amazon.co.uk Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AmazonUK

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For more information about Amazon.co.uk, please contact:
Letitia Thomas Letitia@thisismission.com or Sophie Bates sophiebates@thisismission.com
020 7845 7800 / 07969 783 116

About Amazon
Amazon opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, and long-term thinking.  Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

For further information please contact:
Amazon.co.uk Ltd Press Office
Email: pressoffice@amazon.co.uk
Tel: 0208 636 9280