Report: Gadgets, robotic toys are best-sellers on Amazon this holiday season
Amazon set new records this holiday season, and its first-party sellers, especially those selling gadgets, are reaping the rewards.
Besides shipping more than 1 billion items worldwide the week following Christmas, Amazon welcomed 3 million new Amazon Prime members who signed up in the days leading up to Dec. 25, according to the retail behemoth.
These shoppers also made Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot, the voice-activated speakers which connect to Amazon’s intelligent Alexa Voice Service, the retailer’s best-selling items. However, the company’s first-party (1P) sellers that sell directly on Amazon.com also racked up sales. The most popular gift in December was the PlayStation 4 Slim video game console, logging 2.5-times more sales than other game consoles.
This was according to One Click Retail, which analyzes sales data among its brand manufacturer clients selling on the world’s top e-commerce platforms.
Overall, the top 10 most popular 1P gifts for December 2016 on Amazon were:
1. PlayStation 4 Slim 500GB Console – Uncharted 4 Bundle
2. Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband, Black, Large
3. Xbox One S 500GB Console – Battlefield 1 Bundle
4. Instant Pot 1P-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker
5. GoPro HERO5 Black
6. Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones
7. iRobot Roomba Vacuum Cleaner
8. Anki Overdrive Starter Kit
9. Keurig Coffee Maker
10. HTC VIVE – Virtual Reality System
If Echo and Echo Dot sales are any indication, the real star this holiday was gadgetry. For example, video gaming takes three of the top spots while Fitbit, GoPro, a Roomba and a set of Bose headphones all secure a place. The only true “toy” on the list is a gadget as well: the Anki Over-drive Starter Kit, a toy car set with a customizable racetrack that, once built, can be raced on by robotic cars controlled by the player via an app on their mobile device.
As expected, the toy category earned Amazon’s top product group during the 2016 holiday season, with medium growth to total $1.2 billion in sales. This was the first year however, that robotics dominated this group.
Sitting in second place behind Anki Overdrive is Anki’s Cozmo, the intelligent robot for kids. The only traditional, non-computerized toy in the top five is the party game, Watch Ya’ Mouth, in third place, followed by Bloxels in fourth, and the Osmo Genius Kit in fifth, One Click Retail reported.
The 2016 holiday shopping season may have marked Amazon’s busiest holiday shopping season so far, but now it’s time to look ahead.
“With continued expansions into Australia and elsewhere, the growth of their Prime Air fleet of drones and 767s, the introduction of Amazon Go stores in the US and the continued roll-out of private brands, 2017 is already shaping up to be the most exciting year in Amazon history,” the firm said.