Nine orders a second placed on Amazon as internet shopping booms

13 April 2012

Nine orders every second were placed with online shop Amazon in the run-up to Christmas, the website giant said.

On its busiest day, a record 750,000 orders for gifts from DVDs to books were placed with amazon.co.uk.

As shoppers deserted the high-street before Christmas, the website giant, which is just eight years' old, said it had its 'biggest-ever Christmas.'

It is a sign of the increasing popularity of shopping online, rather than on the high-street, which offers huge discounts and home delivery.

On its busiest day, which was 4 December, the Slough-based business said it dispatched more than 600,000 units, up 25 per cent on last year.

They weighed a massive 320 tonnes - equivalent to about 80 adult African elephants.

Every 8.5 minutes, a delivery truck was leaving Amazon.co.uk's distribution centres.

Brian McBride, managing director, said internet retailing had taken 'another huge step forward this Christmas.'

The trend is likely to continue as more households get high-speed internet access, which makes internet shopping much easier.

Of all the products sold by Amazon.co.uk, the company said the most popular present was the DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

The DVD is a two-disc special edition of the film which stars Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley. It is currently available on Amazon for £13.97, compared to a recommended retail price of £24.99.

The most popular book was Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? And 114 Other Questions, which tries to answer some of the world's most baffling questions.

These include: 'Why does hair turn grey?', 'Why do we have fingerprints?' and 'Why does skin become wrinkled after prolonged immersion in water?

Most Popular presents bought from Amazon.co.uk for Christmas

Top 10 Books

1. Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? And 114 Other Questions by Mick O'Hare

2. QI: The Book of General Ignorance by Stephen Fry

3. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden

4. The Sound of Laughter by Peter Kay

5. The Boys' Book: How to be the Best at Everything [Various Authors}

6. Cook with Jamies: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook by Jamie Oliver

7. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

8. Planet Earth: A Fresh Look at a Spectacular World by David Attenborough

9. And Another Thing: The World According to Clarkson: volume 2 by Jeremy Clarkson

10. The Gospel According to Chris Moyles: The Story of a Man and his Mouth by Chris Moyles

Top 10 DVDs

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

2. Planet Earth

3. High School Musical

4. Cars

5. Deal or No Deal

6. Stormbreaker

7. 24: series 5

8. The Da Vinci Code

9. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

10. March of the Penguins

Source: Amazon.co.uk

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