Amazon.com Inc. said it's “shopping as usual” this holiday season, according to its Delight-O-Meter report.
The Seattle company said customers worldwide have ordered more than 8.9 million items since Nov. 9.
“After much speculation over how recent events might affect consumers' holiday gift selections and shopping habits this year, Amazon.com customers are sending a clear message: it's back to shopping as usual this holiday season,” a statement from Amazon said.
Amazon's stock vaulted 34.47 percent Nov. 26 to $12.21 on news of the Delight-O-Meter findings. The Delight-O-Meter tracks the estimated number of items ordered from Amazon's sites worldwide and those it operates with third parties like Borders.com and Waterstones.co.uk.
New releases and blockbuster hits are dominating the company's sales charts and customer wish lists, Amazon said. Books and computer and video games on the Harry Potter theme account for five of the 25 best-selling items on the site. Harry Potter even dominates the wish lists.
DVD players are another holiday favorite. Orders for DVD players spiked more than 75 percent for Nov. 9 to Nov. 19 versus the same period last year. The retailer sold more than 40,000 DVD players during the 2000 holiday season.
Among DVD releases, popular movies were “Shrek,” “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” “The Godfather” collection, “Lara Croft — Tomb Raider” and “The Sopranos' ” second-season set.
Books related to current events sold best, Amazon said. This included fall releases such as Jack Welch's “Jack: Straight from the Gut,” “Skipping Christmas” by John Grisham and “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen.
Of course, the Harry Potter series topped the Amazon best-seller list until now this season.
