Amazon.co.uk to start Boxing Day Deals on 25th December due to customer demand

Luxembourg – 17th December, 2012 – The advent of Internet retail has allowed customers to shop from anywhere, at any time and, as a result, Amazon.co.uk has seen purchases on Christmas Day increase by 263% over the last five years. Amazon expects Christmas Day 2012 to be its busiest Christmas Day to date due, in part, to the growth in home broadband, tablets and smartphones. 

“The digital revolution has certainly played a part in this growth and Christmas Day is our biggest day of the year for MP3 and Kindle Book downloads as many people are buying content from new devices that they have just received,” said Xavier Garambois, Vice President of EU Retail at Amazon. “It’s not just digital items though, we are seeing purchases of everything from baby products to women’s clothing rapidly growing on Christmas Day. Many customers are shopping on Christmas Day in a way that has previously only been seen in the retail industry on Boxing Day.”

Here are some of the trends that Amazon.co.uk has historically seen on Christmas Day:

11am: Last minute gifts
11am is the peak time for purchases of Gift Cards, one of Amazon.co.uk’s biggest sellers on Christmas Day.

Midday: Spending Christmas Gift Cards
From midday the number of people using their Gift Cards increases – with high volumes of Kindle Books and MP3s being purchased.

8.15pm: Sofa Surfing
In 2011, Amazon.co.uk saw visitor numbers peak on Amazon.co.uk at 8.15pm. Boxing Day bargain-hunting begins early as customers flock online on Christmas Day evening.

“Digital products are clear winners on Christmas Day due to the instant satisfaction they give of being able to read or listen to them immediately,” said Christopher North, Managing Director, Amazon.co.uk Ltd.

Amazon.co.uk will begin Boxing Day Deals on Christmas Day this year and run until 1st January 2013. Deals will include clearance offers, digital deals and ‘Lightning Deals’ – limited quantity, limited time deals. Amazon will also price match offline retailer prices across millions of products. For further information customers can go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/boxingday

Some of the deals available during Boxing Day Deals Week will include:

• Buy One Get One Half Price from Kindle Accessories across a range of devices
• 67% off LOVEFiLM 6-months subscription for new members
• Up to 80% off select Apps in the Amazon Appstore
• Braun Oral B Triumph 4000 Power Toothbrush for £43.99 (current site price £62.99)
• The Big Bang Theory Season 1-5 Blu-ray for £29.00 (current site price £47.50)
• Philips 22-inch Full HD LED TV with FreeView for £139.00 (current site price £229.34)
• Magimix 3150 Chrome Food Processor for £145.00 (current site price £199.99)
• LEGO Batman Bundle for £14.99 (current site price £22.77)
• Sony 3D Blu-ray Home Cinema System for £129.00 (current site price £229.34)
• Anglepoise Desk Lamp for £49.99 (current site price £76.00)

Prices are correct as of 17thDecember 2012 and are subject to change.

Top ten items purchased with Gift Cards on Christmas Day 2011 (not including free Kindle books):

The classics dominated the top ten most-downloaded Kindle books on Christmas Day 2011 (includes both paid for and free Kindle Books):

Christmas songs dominated the top ten most-downloaded MP3 products on Christmas Day 2011:

-Ends-

Amazon.co.uk Ltd Press Office:
For more information please contact the Amazon.co.uk Ltd Press Office on 0208 636 9280 or email pressoffice@amazon.co.uk .

About Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998 and strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavours to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.

Amazon.co.uk and other sellers offer millions of new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Baby, Books, Car & Motorbike, Clothing, DIY & Tools, DVD, Electronics & Photo, Grocery, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Jewellery, MP3, Music, Musical Instruments & DJ, Office, PC, Pet Supplies, Shoes, Software, Sports & Leisure, Toys & Games, Video Games and Watches.

Kindle Paperwhite is our most-advanced e-reader with 62% more pixels and 25% higher contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design.  The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD is our most advanced tablet, with a stunning customised high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support and dual antennas/MIMO, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine. The all-new Kindle Fire features a faster processor for 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.

Amazon.co.uk is a trading name for Amazon EU S.à.r.l, Amazon Services Europe S.à.r.l and Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l. All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), located in Seattle, Washington. Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, www.amazon.es, and www.amazon.com/br. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.