Amazon Prime Ships More Than 5 Billion Items In 2017

Amazon announced news on Tuesday (Jan.2 ) that more than 5 billion items were shipped worldwide in 2017 through its Prime membership program.

In a press release, the company said more new paid members joined Prime around the globe in 2017 than in any other year. “From Fire TV Stick and Echo Dot to Imagine Dragons, “Manchester by the Sea” and even the Instant Pot, Prime members certainly have great taste! Tens of millions of members around the world enjoy the many benefits included with Prime,” said Greg Greeley, vice president, Amazon Prime, in a press release highlighting the “Best of Prime 2017.”

According to Amazon, during 2017, the Fire TV Stick and Echo Dot were the bestselling products purchased by Prime members in the U.S. last year, considering every manufacturer in any category across all of Amazon.

Last year, Amazon said Prime members added millions of new Amazon devices to their homes. The eCommerce giant said Prime Video also had a record year in 2017, with customers in more than 240 countries and territories streaming content. Dec. 30 was the biggest streaming day of the year around the globe, noted Amazon. As for Twitch, Amazon’s live-streaming video platform, Prime members around the world ordered more than 5 million pre-release games with a Prime discount.

Given all the packages Amazon delivered in 2017, it’s not surprising the company expanded its fulfillment capacity during the year. Amazon’s fulfillment and shipping network increased by greater than 30 percent in square footage worldwide. More than 6,000 trailers and 32 Amazon Airplanes were in place to serve Prime members during the year. New countries that joined Prime in 2017 included Mexico, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Singapore. Prime is available in the U.S., U.K., Spain, Japan, Italy, India, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium and Austria.